* NOSTALGIC SUNDAY *

It's Time for Another Nostalgic Sunday

 

From the time I wrote my post about Merle Haggard on Thursday afternoon, and today during the early afternoon, I had two of those Twilight Zoney happenings... otherwise known as those incidents of Cosmic Encouragement (thanks again to Connie's comment in an April 2010 blog post of mine!)

For now, I'm not going to share what happened, but please don't think it was something so magnificent or weird or bad. I just don't have the time and the mental strength to write about it properly. (I've been de-cluttering my home office this evening like the Tasmanian Devil!)

What does any of this have to do with Nostalgic Sunday?

Memories and Writing...and Following My Bliss

 

 

I'll be back soon, but for now I want to urge all of you to follow your bliss. The first time I heard the poem below, it was from a new writer friend and mentor...and it was a life-changing moment,

 

"If you do follow your bliss,
you put yourself on a kind of track
that has been there all the while waiting for you,
and the life you ought to be living
is the one you are living.
When you can see that,
you begin to meet people
who are in the field of your bliss,
and they open the doors to you.

I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid,
and doors will open
where you didn't know they were going to be.
If you follow your bliss,
doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else.”

-- Joseph Campbell

 

~~~



 

* NEW THOUGHTS ON FOLLOWING MY BLISS *

Last week I had one of those moments where a thought just popped into my head and made perfect sense. I was in bed, trying to go to sleep, but my brain had other ideas...ha ha! Get it...my brain had other "ideas"!? (Sorry for the groaner, but I'm still going pretty much on lots of coffee and a lack of Zzzzs... due to working three full days and three half days last week.)

So...the thought that popped into my head was all about "following your bliss"... and isn't that what my blog and I are all about?! You've seen the following poem on my side bar:

"Follow your bliss.
If you do follow your bliss,
you put yourself on a kind of track
that has been there all the while waiting for you,
and the life you ought to be living
is the one you are living.
When you can see that,
you begin to meet people
who are in the field of your bliss,
and they open the doors to you.
I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid,
and doors will open
where you didn't know they were going to be.
If you follow your bliss,
doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else.”
-- Joseph Campbell

 

Both of my part-time jobs just happened to come along, when I wasn't even looking!

"...you begin to meet people
who are in the field of your bliss,
and they open the doors to you.
I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid,
and doors will open..."
 
And yes, both jobs are rewarding and fun, and yes I'm following my bliss!

And then a powerful thought: Stop worrying about whether I'm writing or not writing...Enjoy where I am at this moment, and the writing will come.

~~~

 

When my friend, Robin Theiss, first told me about Joseph Campbell's quote, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I immediately felt like those words had been written especially for me. I still find it very powerful every time I read it. 

 

I hope all of you are following your bliss, but if you aren't, please give it a try.

 

Wishing you all a beautiful, blissful 2nd week of December!



 

 

A horse drawn carriage on Main Street in old St. Charles, Mo.
This was taken in December of 2009.



* FOLLOWING MY BLISS *

The past few days have been stressful and tiring, and yet also joyful and exhilarating. I guess that's "normal" when moving to a new home, especially when downsizing. 

How much can I throw away? What can be given to Goodwill? What do I absolutely have to take with me? Within a week, though, The Ronald and I (and Vern, of course!) will be living in our delightful, little condo, beginning a new adventure. Life never fails to surprise me.

~~~

 

As Vern and I strolled along during one of our walks yesterday, he with his nose down, sniffing and zig-zagging,

 

 

I thought about the direction my writing is headed. Although I'm definitely working on the sequel to my memoir, it's been slow going, and I'll be putting it on the back burner for a while. I want to focus on a different idea that keeps coming back to me:

 

 

a humorous and hopefully laugh-out-loud funny book about men: how they drive us crazy, the idiotic things they sometimes say and/or do, etc. The title will be Men Ought to Be a Four-Letter Word. (which is also one of the chapters in my memoir, inspired by The Ronald!)

 

I'm not sure where this particular road will take me, but my writing is about the journey, and I have to follow my bliss. (The following words are extremely meaningful to me. Thank you again, Robin Theiss.)

 

one of my favorite walking trails (2009)

 

"Follow your bliss.
If you do follow your bliss,
you put yourself on a kind of track
that has been there all the while waiting for you,
and the life you ought to be living
is the one you are living.
When you can see that,
you begin to meet people
who are in the field of your bliss,
and they open the doors to you.
I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid,
and doors will open
where you didn't know they were going to be.
If you follow your bliss,
doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else." - Joseph Campbell

 

 

 

* I would love to know everyone's thoughts and/or advice. Please leave comments! *

 

 



* PARTICIPATING IN A BLOG TOUR *

Hello everyone! As I wrote in my August 17th post, I'm on a lengthy blog break, but I'm participating in a blog tour I was asked to do right before that break. I'm sure I've previously answered the following four questions during another tour, but I didn't look back to see what my responses were. (Maybe I'll check after I post this and see how different they might be!)


My dear bloggy friend, Chatty Crone, invited me. If you've read her blog then you already know what a sweetie she is. She's sincere, funny, and has a strong faith. She is a recent breast cancer survivor and openly shares her, thankfully, very swift discovery and outcome.

Okay, without further ado, here are the questions and my answers:


1) What are you working on?
      
 I'm writing the sequel (no title yet) to my memoir, From Pigtails to Chin Hairs: A Memoir & More. I'm thrilled to say that since taking my blog break, I'm rolling right along with it. No, that doesn't mean it will be finished anytime soon! It just means I'm writing much more often that I was and it's definitely a wonderful feeling. (I need to fit some organization into my life, but writing is definitely my main focus.)
    

2) How does your work differ from others?
      I'm not sure how to answer this one! Since we are all different people and have our own habits, I really don't know how my work/writing differs from other writers. I will say this...I'm truly happy that I only write memoir/personal essays. I'm not organized enough to keep track of storylines or characters' names, etc! (Notice the sentence in parentheses in my reply to the first question!)



3) Why do you write/create what you do?
      Because I must! Ever since I discovered at the young age of 48 years old that I could write, I haven't stopped. And if I'm not at my laptop actually writing, I'm thinking about writing, jotting notes about things to write about, reading books about writing, talking with other writers about writing....You get the picture! And I write memoir because I want to share events in my life that might help others in some way because they've lived through similar situations, or are going through them now. I want them to laugh, smile, delve into themselves, maybe shed a tear, but mostly to laugh.


4) How does your writing/creating process work?
      Memories, whether happy or sad, pop into my head at all hours of the day, and sometimes in my sleep. Those are all the reasons I try to keep a pen and notepad handy, or talk into the voice notes app on my cell phone, so I'll have them when I get to my laptop to actually write. No matter where I am, there are reminders of my life, whether from long, long ago, or earlier in my adulthood: scents, sights, and sounds.
      

These flowers are in a family member's back yard.

They don't have a "scent", but the "sight" of them

certainly prompted writing ideas! And if you tap

them with your fingernail, they also make a "sound."

That's it from here.

I'm continuing to follow my bliss

 and I hope you are, too!

 

 

P.S. I'm waiting to hear back from a blog friend about being the next selection, but I wanted to go ahead and post this now.

* Note: I received an e-mail from Patti at Treasure Barn and she is happy to reply to the Blog Tour questions! It will be one day next month, which if you've noticed the calendar lately....September arrives in 5 days! Thank you, Patti!

 

* My Head's a Spinnin'! *

This past week I've spent most of my time gearing up for the arrival of my memoir. 

(Is it possible for me to reread that sentence too many times?) 

I'm attempting to stay cool, calm, and collected...and not use an inordinate amount of explanation points, but.....Wow! It has been a long journey! I keep envisioning the following scene:

My doorbell rings. Vern gets excited, starts barking, and runs to the front door. When I get there, I turn the knob, open the door....and there stands the UPS guy...with a large box addressed to me and he needs my signature. 

From there the scene has different variations: 

1) If The Ronald is home, we both open the box and stare at the wondrous sight. 

2) If he isn't home, I tell myself I must wait until he gets home, so he can share the moment with me.

3) Then reality hits. I know I'll pull and tear and gnaw at that box like a ravenous beast until it's open.

From that point, I've imagined several scenarios, so when it actually happens, I'll definitely share it.

My blog last Sunday was about doors, keys, and door knobs, and how I find them beautiful and meaningful. The following words by Joseph Campbell are so fitting for today's post, and every time I read them, I swear I get chills.....in that good kind of way.

“Follow your bliss.
If you do follow your bliss,
you put yourself on a kind of track
that has been there all the while waiting for you,
and the life you ought to be living
is the one you are living.
When you can see that,
you begin to meet people
who are in the field of your bliss,
and they open the doors to you.
I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid,
and doors will open
where you didn't know they were going to be.
If you follow your bliss,
doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else.” 

Joseph Campbell

In addition to the usual ways of selling books, I have lots of other marketing plans & ideas in that area, and THAT'S why "my head's a spinnin'!" There are so many helpful sites and blogs online, it can really get overwhelming, but with having a plan, schedules, date books, calendars, etc., I'll be just fine. 

Follow your bliss!

* Leaps of Faith and Me: A Continuing Scenario *

Does this happen to you? Just when you think your plans are set and the road ahead is straight and clear, you come to a hill and on the way down, a mirage appears to lie ahead in the distance, right in the middle of the road....

Once again it's time for me to take another leap of faith, actually two giant leaps of faith, because I feel that I'm on the brink of something big and it's time to take control of my own destiny. 

I'm excited, invigorated, and ready to say, "Look out world. Here I come!"

I apologize for sounding secretive or mysterious, but I can't reveal things until they've actually begun. It should be soon, though.

Have you noticed my new plaque I posted on the right side bar? It's kind of hard to miss, isn't it? I saw it a couple of weeks ago at Home Goods and although it's not in any of my color schemes, it yelled at me to buy it. I mean...how could I resist? It says ALL the things I believe in, and it even has "Follow Your Bliss" on it. Sold! 

Oh, and on a side note: I've begun writing a sequel to my memoir! I still have so many stories to tell. Now I just need a title! ☺

Welcome to my newest follower Trish at Desktop Retreat.

I hope you'll stop by often and always enjoy what you read and see!  

And because I believe in all those sayings, that's why I have to make those leaps of faith when something presents itself: 

Follow Your Heart. Never Give UP. Nothing is Impossible.