--Author Unknown
Welcome, welcome to my blog! Doesn't it look
Those of you who have been around for a while know I haven't. Been around, that is. I could rattle off a dozen
Take a good look. Now look again, harder. Don't do what I have. I'm a living example of what can happen to you and your dreams if you stop believing.
Wow, L.T. Way to ease us in, right? There's a method to my madness, though. I'm aiming for a little personal accountability and I also feel some explanation is owed. For a little over a year, I haven't pursued my writing. Not in any serious depth. I've attended conferences, written some, and read lots. But for all the pretty wrapping, that box has been empty. The descent was somewhat gradual and then one day I woke up and realized that I wasn't just abandoning my dream, I was destroying it by degrees.
Looking over that wreckage hurt a lot. This April I banished myself from the internet (*confession* I cheated a little) to force myself to get back to work and try and salvage something. A week before April ended, I stood among the ashes of a beloved project and realized my best option was to shelve it. More than two years of work.
Yeah, that sucked.
I've always seen that project as the story of my heart but even I could see I was too close to it. (Its bleeding, shredded innards might have clued me in, also.) I gave myself that last week of April to throw myself a pity-party and told myself that come May, it was time to get back to work on something new and fight for the dream.
It's been a hell of a fight. Lesson #2: Getting Rusty Sucks. Not only have ideas flowed like pouring molasses in an arctic tundra, but my words no worky so good no more. *cringe* And owning all of this ain't so fun, either.
So why spill? Two reasons: I need to be honest with myself & quit hiding. And maybe by being honest, I might help someone else. If you've let your dream slide out of focus, if you're wearing shades to avoid the gleam, if you're telling yourself that it doesn't matter or you'll do it tomorrow--stop.
There are situations when taking a step back is the best choice. Take care of your life, your family, your health. Take time for the things that matter. Sometimes you have to set the dream down. Sometimes, life rips it out of your hands and it shatters on the ground. But don't leave it lying there--whole or in pieces. Pick it back up as soon as you reasonably can. The safest place for a dream is in your hands, your head, your heart.
Take it from someone who let their dream get dusty and broken. It's easier to fix when you can remember how the pieces fit together. It's hard work but I've invested in some glue and a dash of hope. I'm drafting something new and this time I plan to keep a better grip on things.
And if your dream is dusty? It's not too late to let it shine.
Until next time,
L.T.
