As I write this the rain is coming down and I couldn’t be happier about that. It’s a good old-fashioned thunderstorm.
What a week it’s been. I have hardly written a word which for me is often the indicator of a bad week. It’s hasn’t been a bad week, but it’s been a week of work. This is the peak season in our business so we’re ‘making hay while the sun shines’ so to speak. And shine it does. Lordy! That’s why it’s so great sitting here listening to the rain tonight!
After years of challenges, our business runs pretty smoothly now. It still keeps us pretty busy but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, and no, it’s not an oncoming freight train.
Regular readers will recall my Dream Job, making art for interior design projects around the world. If you’d asked 10-year-old me, or 20-year-old me, or even 30-year-old me, that was my dream job, but for almost as long as I had that job, I complained about it. That’s just what you do, I thought. Now a couple of years after leaving I realise how much I learned from it, both the work and the struggles to maintain my mental health while working in a mostly unhappy environment. I see now how I contributed to my unhappiness by not setting boundaries, not valuing myself, and oh, the complaining. It’s embarrassing to think about now. Complaining is so TOXIC!
I see now there’s power in re-imagining the obstacles we face in daily life as the lessons to be learnt. The obstacle is the path.
Could that be any easier?
What are my obstacles?
What are they teaching me?
And it’s a simple process. It’s not an easy process, but it is simple.
What are my obstacles? Time is a big one for me. Finding time making time to write is frustrating because our business takes up so much of my time. Instead of viewing this as a problem, I need to change my attitude to one of GRATITUDE. And I need to set firmer boundaries…that’s always been a challenge. It would help to value my skills and use my time better (note to self – dicking about on Pinterest is not always marketing…)
And I need to let go. I need to learn to let go of what was never mine and what will never be mine. What a waste of time it is to wonder what could have been or waste my time with counterfactuals.
I need to live in the present moment and stop simultaneously wishing my life away and fearing time passing. Wasting time thinking about lost opportunities from the past is taking up time, and in the future I will no doubt lament these lost moments as time wasted and opportunities lost. Yes, I’m an enigma wrapped in a riddle, wrapped in a complete dill.
For Writers –
This is made obvious when we’re writing for others to read or telling a story in any other way. Fiction or non-fiction, we don’t want to bore our readers/listeners. Imagine a travel story based on most of my holidays… Everything went to plan, the flights were all without incident, the weather was perfect, the mojitos were yummy and cold…boring! This why I write fiction! My life is wonderfully non-eventful and I am very happy about that.
The first thing a writer does after coming up with a new character is throw obstacles in their path.
This is why we read fiction! We want to see ourselves reflected in the characters, overcoming the obstacles in their path. It makes us feel as though we too can live happily every after.
Feature Photo by Stephen Leonardi on Unsplash
Excellent post, thank you for sharing