I once took a trip through Wyoming at night. We were driving a Prius through some of the windiest, emptiest lands I had ever NOT seen. All I could see were the headlights, nothing else. We were hurtling along at 75 mph in the pitch black of Wyoming in what felt like a tuna can in the wind. But our headlights got us back to Denver. More on that later…
Today I want to explore life via writing advice. I’m in a very difficult position right now in my life, the details of which I won’t go into, but suffice it to say it feels like my back is pinned to the wall worse than it has been since I was told I had a brain aneurysm and needed brain surgery. It’s not a feeling I am enjoying or even tolerating very well. I need a little wisdom, so I turn to the advice I hear most often. Writing Advice.
First to mind is “Show, Don’t tell.” While writers argue about this one and break it all the time, what it says to me in this situation is, “Do it, Don’t talk about it.” As long as I remember to breathe, this reminds me that action is better than inaction. In my situation, I have as much of a plan as I can at this time, so I need to DO IT and not be paralyzed in my fear.
“A Professional Writer is an Amature Who Didn’t Quit. Richard Bach” This is a post I keep on my computer to remind me that perseverance is key. It isn’t enough to do it once, you have to keep doing it over and over and over: daily even. I guess this is slightly comforting in that it reminds me that once won’t be enough and that isn’t unusual. We often don’t solve life problems immediately, right?
A final favorite thought by the writer Umberto Eco is “To survive, you must tell stories.” I hope that this will keep me remembering that to succeed in my current challange, I may have to tell stories: to couch what I need in terms that people can understand and help with. We all know the human mind is wired for Story, so if that is how we understand life and problems, I will use that to my advantage.
And my final advice is from a Squirrel, the Squirrel of Judgement. You’ve met him, sitting on a fence somewhere, chattering down at you in judgment.
The importance of this little meme, funny as all get out, is that I must keep creating art. I must be involved in the rest of life, despite the current challenges, and I must be attending to my art, my relationships, and my sense of joy. I cannot let the feelings of doom overcome me or I will not be able to act, to preserve, and to keep driving as far as the headlights will allow. Faith in the process. I get it now.
Feeling like your back is up against the wall is not a good feeling at all and I hope things get better sooner fastest. Thank you for the guidance. Thank you for following those headlights and showing us the way.
Ona- thanks for shining the beam in a helpful direction!