Thinking
Editing is the bane of every writer’s existence. I just finished a good post in IngramSpark, and it did my head in. I’m not blaming the article; it was a good article and I will most likely do a post on it later this year. But, for me, it was a reminder of how much is required to follow a dream (both in time and money), and that started me thinking. Thinking is dangerous; it hinders sleep.
The current state of the world has emphasised how short life is. We take so much for granted thinking we have time, and more often we do but every road has a potential pitfall. The Corona virus is a great example of the unexpected and an unexpected that crosses borders without conscience or emotion and with a total disregard for numbers.
Who could have imagined the havoc caused by a simple marketplace (this is not to blame but we know viruses thrive with the right breeding ground and it needs to be looked at)? Well, the truth is, it has been imagined – only we called it fiction, and some of the behaviours that have occurred I personally would love to relegate back to fiction. Have you seen the film Contagion or Pandemic? Do I need to say more?
I understand fear but fear is not a reason to act rashly or selfishly when a situation involves so many people. Aggressive reactions and resistance to what is best for the rest of society make no sense. Thankfully all of us are listening a little better, and appropriate steps are now in place for transgressors.
We are in the middle of a war and the only weapon we have, to defeat it, is our behaviour. My post It’s me, not you highlighted my thoughts on this, so I won’t repeat myself. This post is to address what lies behind the fear. Can it be that we are not where we want to be, or thought we might be in life? Is this dissatisfaction undermining our behaviour? Can it be that we are frightened of what now appears an elusive one day? I am. I am afraid that I haven’t made the best of my life.
One day and Norfolk Island
I’m going to digress, just for a minute. One of my dearest friends had a dream – she wanted to go to Norfolk Island. I truly believe few people knew how much it meant to her. In fact, I only discovered it by a strange coincidence. Living in another state our regular phone calls were about catching up on family and day to day occurrences. In this case the occurrence was a documentary I had seen on Norfolk. Don’t ask me why but it caught my fancy, and I mentioned it to Gail in idle conversation.
Next thing I knew we had booked for the following January. The Brisbane floods put a damper on that. I suggested re-booking for late October. We did; we never made it. Gail died of cancer early October. I have never forgotten how excited she was when we first made the plans to go. She had promised herself one day for 30 years. It’s what we do, we think we have time, we think one day.
One Day and Right Now
We don’t. Don’t misunderstand, I know we can’t give in to our whims but why do we put what matters so far into the future? I’ve done it, Gail did it and I am willing to bet many of you do it all the time. Why? Are we afraid to be thought foolish or selfish, afraid we are not capable in some way, don’t deserve it?
I have always wanted to write. Time was the enemy, single parenting was the enemy, earning a living was the enemy, and affording professional help was and has been my biggest enemy. These are legitimate things particularly the latter. What do you do when your dreams have so many roadblocks? Do you tell yourself one day? Look at the state of the world and imagine the number of dreams presently on hold.
What you do, is follow that dream to the best of your ability. And right now, we can do things that may help us achieve our dreams. We have time to work on things: study, family time, flexing creativity muscles, learning new skills, and we have time to learn patience and that patience may help create new dreams.
I don’t like our situation any more than anyone else, but it has taught me I did right to take a chance and publish when I did. I learned I was braver than I thought, and I learned I needed to learn more. If something happens to me, I know if nothing else, I have achieved one of my dreams, and now I have some unexpected time to revise it (self-publishing boon), and time to find new dreams but only if I think in terms of today and not some day.
There were times in my life I had my eyes shut but luckily I decided to open them, and see the possibilities.
One day is right now. Lets not waste it.
Alla prossima,
Barb
Great post and not only is tomorrow not guaranteed, I think we all realize how the most important thing is not money or material things but instead, family and friends.
Exactly, it is about people.
Fantastic post. Your story of Norfolk Island is a reminder to live for today.
Thank you, so lovely of you to stop by. You are so right about Norfolk. I’d give anything to be able to say we had made the trip. I will one day for both Gail and myself.
What a great reminder to live for today. We never know what tomorrow holds. Love this!
Thanks Michelle, so glad you stopped by.
What a profound and moving post. It’s only an illusion that there is “one day” in the future when we will be capable, deserving, and lucky enough to live our dreams. And we often forget that depriving ourselves of our dreams not only harms us, but also everyone around us. If we are bitter, miserable, and full of regret, how does that help our loved ones and the world? I know this in my heart, but I needed to hear it. Need it drilled into my head over and over again. Thank you for sharing your heartfelt thoughts on this.
No thank you. Its nice to know that something resonates. Writers can so easily lose belief in what they write and when someone gets it, well it makes all the difference. I appreciate the comment and love posts you put out as they are aimed at helping people..