I'm baaaack

Well, a bit of travel and a whopping cold have left me speechless - literally - I lost my voice. That, of course, does not mean I can't blog but I had to clear my head first. I haven't said much about my book but I want to today. Threads is the story of Maggie Casey and her belief in something better out there only in the end she realizes it is something better in there. When we stop looking for validation from the outside we realize we have what we need within us. It takes a long time for human beings to see their own worth and maybe this is important. Maybe it's what keeps us striving. I am finally at an age where I feel calm and confident but like Maggie, I didn't start out this way, I had to earn this feeling. We all have to do the work - finding ourselves and getting comfortable in our skin is our job not a given. So go do the work. Get out there and test yourself. See what you are made of - take a chance and expand your comfort zone. Learn something about yourself today.

Slow down and think

It's a strange world we live in, sometimes violent, sometimes kind, and all the time a moving target. In the world I grew up in things seemed different. Day after day brought more of the same. My dad went to work, sometimes my mom worked, we went out to play or to school and the cycle repeated itself. There were few options and people seemed to like it that way. In contrast, our world today, moves quickly and changes in a moments notice. It's like a tornado with little warning. Like the war in Iraq, we woke up one day and our commander in chief had tossed the middle east into chaos on a psychotic whim. No preparation, no forethought - just bam! What happened to careful deliberation? Has the pace of our lives so overrode our ability to make careful judgements? Is our instant gratification world pushing us to ever impulsive behavior? Is the world gone ADD? I think it's time to slowdown and consider our actions whether we are writing a book or invading a country - just slow down and let things happen instead of forcing things to happen. Let your characters reveal who they are rather than arbitrarily shaping them to some preconceived notion. Read the Tao te Ching - it makes sense. Practice "not being". Make no decisions until your mud settles. Retreat 2 steps rather than advance one in anger. Slow down.