So, it's been a minute. And I just thought now would be a good time to talk about why. And work-life balance. And nature. And words. And dreams.
It occurred to me the other day that I haven't written here in over a month. And it's not even for due to my lack of writing, of which I've done more in the past few weeks than in a long time, but we'll get to that.
I often struggle with what to write, what to create, what opportunity to pursue. As I look at the general direction my life is taking me today, the exact bearing is becoming a little more clear.
As I approach the one-year mark since I left my full-time job in non-profit marketing & communications, I've been reflecting on the transition and where I'm headed.
Here's what I've been doing: writing, hiking, running, meeting, sleeping, resting, sitting, napping, sleeping, reading & reflecting. And healing. Lots of healing.
In my experience, however, the answers don't come nearly as quickly as I'd like them to most of the time. But, I'm hopeful, and especially inspired by Ranier Maria Rilke's Letter's To a Young Poet:
“You are so young, so much before all beginning, and I want to ask you, as best I can, dear sir, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to have love for the questions themselves, like locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Do not seek out the answers now, which cannot be given to you because you cannot live them. And what matters is to live everything. Live the questions for now. Perhaps then, without noticing it, you will gradually come, on some far-off day, to live your way into the answer.”
But see, for me, that's not my natural inclination. I want to know where we're going and I want to know now. I don't focus naturally on the seeking & the questions, I look for the answers and the resolutions.
But, I've been trying. So what have I been doing: I've been spending time in rest, solitude & silence, and reflection. I spent four days in a fire lookout tower recently by myself, getting quiet. I enjoy nature. I hike trails. Run miles. Wake early. Sit often. I get quiet. I read (join me on the FB's). And simply ask questions & seek. I seek & I search. My life is slow & simple (really, I mean just wait till I talk about food someday). It's peaceful & my heart is open.
And to that end, I've been writing often. And in a great variety of modes & mediums. I've been writing letters (like the kind with stamps) and notes, and words of thankfulness & appreciation. Random emails. Journaling & reflection upon what I've been reading. And have added a new discipline - Julia Cameron's Morning Pages method (based off of her best-seller The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity)...lots and lots of words. Words for my soul, from my soul. Words to inspire & encourage others from my heart. Words, words, words...that haven't made it here, but I'm coming to believe that there are many methods for many means.
So, all this to say, for anybody struggling with the direction of your life, take heed & know that there are many paths, not just one way. You do not have to do what everyone else is doing. If you're miserable, make some changes. Today unlike any other time in history, I believe, are all things possible with a little courage & hope. There is no wrong way; only your way. Follow the way of the Spirit that leads to all things good, abundant & fulfilling. I chased for a long time, but now I simply move forward with perseverance & faith.
