Nurturing Monday- The Gift That Lies Beneath The Surface

"If you have a good inner life, you don't get lonely. I've got a good imagination. I don't miss romance." 

Diana Rigg

This Nurturing Monday brings me to a new gratitude for the life within that is available to all who seek it. On the surface, the winds may be howling, creating turbulent movement that leaves us unsteady, but underneath our inner life can glow, beckoning us to return.

My life inside is made up of practices. I repeat them daily. There is prayer and meditation, in fact I came up with six habits that bring me happiness. Three of them fill my inner life. 

Pray, Study, and Create all furnish my cozy, inside nook. So how does my one little word fit in? Choosing one little word each year provides a focus and intention to use that word to move my inner life forward. When it is active and glowing that private life can grow up into my outward, public life. Turning outward toward others and serving is easier. Choosing self care of exercise and nutrition is easier. There are lulls, of, course. Some days I want to play hooky. All in all, my word nurture gently reminds me to return to practices that heal and rejuvenate. 

To go to the overview of My Year of Nurturing click  here.

Familiar

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar. 

Thich Nhat Hanh

I walked by a tree recently and looked up to see the barren branches. A familiar lonely feeling weaseled into my chest. 

Feeling lonely in the winter comes as if scheduled on my to do list. This is what rises in winter. 

But, these two leaves caught my eye and I saw the message clearly.

Holding on is sometimes a sacred battle. Holding on to hope and joy, and love can seem naive as familiar despair creeps in. Just because it's familiar doesn't mean it is real.

                                    

I have been writing with the Five Minute Friday group for more than three years and I really enjoy the talented writers who share themselves each week.

Nurturing Monday- Thankful For My Imagination

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. 

Albert Einstein

This morning I moved my writing corner from the couch to the kitchen table. I moved a lamp and flower pot within view so a could create a certain coziness. You see, the couch was giving me lower back pain. This is day 20 of NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, and I am still firmly committed to writing everyday. 

When I opened my e-mails today I found a pep talk by a NaNoWriMo author. "In the middle of the month you might hit quicksand," he wrote. "You will be tempted to quit because your plot line is stuck. But if you quit, your story will call to you and it will plead for you to finish. Keep going."

My characters do call to me to finish their story. I am so thankful that I have a tiny bit more imagination to keep them moving forward. Today they will meet a professor of music performance form Budapest who might turn out to be the killer or might give them the information to direct their investigation elsewhere. Who writes a murder mystery? Can't say I have any first hand knowledge but I do love Deborah Crombie and Jacqueline Winspear. Their detectives are my inspiration. If I can find as much excitement in my own novel as I do in theirs, I will be over the moon.

As the end of the year approaches I am thinking of the word 'enough' as my 2018 word but lately I'm inclined to embrace the word 'more'.

To go to the overview of My Year of Nurturing click  here.

Excuse

Pride invites you to excuse yourself from doing the right thing.

While reading the scriptures this morning I came upon some passages explaining why a truly blessed people fell into contention and strife. Their lack of unity split them into factions and classes.

Pride invites you to set yourself apart. It allows you to excuse your actions. The story that pride promotes is that you are entitled to feel better than your neighbor. Pride creates false intimacy with others as it invites them into your story. I know about pride. It blinds. A clue that pride is rising up comes when I can't truly see others, when my story is running in my head  24/7. 
   I need to excuse myself from writing so passionately. The scriptures pricked my conscience.



                                      

 I have been writing with the Five Minute Friday group for more than three years and I really enjoy the talented writers who share themselves each week. 

Nurturing Monday- Loving Writing

The treasure I've discovered is a deeper love for writing.

Almost two weeks ago I made a quick decision to join National Novel Writing Month. A novel is a huge jump in my usual writing pursuits. I write for my blog but to try to write 50,000 words in one month is mind blowing. 
Fortunately, I have this One Little Word that is guiding me this year. The word is 'nurture'. Why not nurture this skill and jump in the deep?

When I reached 10,000 words, NaNoWriMo sent me an e-mail. You see, I log my words everyday on their internet site. The statement that somewhere in my words I've discovered treasure rang true. The treasure is the power of nurturing my intentions and following through. Even if my novel stinks, I will be pleased with the process of getting up each morning to write more about my own little world. 
    The main characters in my novel are two detectives who investigate the death of a piano teacher. Oh, you want to know more. Okay, just a peek.............Click here for a preview.

To go to the overview of My Year of Nurturing click  here.

Silence

After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music. 

Aldous Huxley

In music silence is called a rest. Rests are counted just like notes and there are symbols for rests with the same value as notes. So, silence is equal to sound in importance. 

     I forget that principle in the comings and goings of life. I fill the awkward silence in conversation with mutterings, I turn on music to cover the silence in my house, and disregard the silence I hear in prayer instead of asking, "Why aren't you answering?" I've asked it before and the answer was silence. But it was laced with love and reassurance. 
  "Be still and know that I am God."

 I have been writing with the Five Minute Friday group for more than three years and I really enjoy the talented writers who share themselves each week.   

Nurturing Monday- Thankful for My Word Of The Year

Some words expect us to chase them while others sit benevolently waiting to serve.

Choosing the word 'nurture' this year has really blessed my life. I am thankful for having a word that served me so well. It sub-divides easily into subjects. Right in January I made a list of things I wanted to nurture. Since it is a verb it opens up to action. 

 I am on the lookout for another word that will offer ways to grow and change. I was first attracted to OLW because it seemed like a fun activity. I liked joining Ali Edwards group of fellow 'worders". But, I found my words in years past to be elusive. I literally found myself trying to change to fit my word. So here is my dilemma. What word will serve me in 2018? What word will allow me to grow and naturally fi into my present life? I am on the lookout. 

To go to the overview of My Year of Nurturing click  here.

Need

      What do I need at this stage of my life?

I don't need fame, I don't need to change the world, I don't need to be popular, and I don't need influence. 

I do need connection.

I can deal with aging, less physical prowess if I have people I love around me and if I have a rich inner life.

By inner life I mean positive thoughts.

These would come from God, from good books, from music, and from telling stories.

I should mention that I need to help others and let them help me. I was assuming you might see that in the word connection but I don't want to leave out that very important aspect of service. Service revolves around my family, my students, my friends and my community.

  Oh, and before I forget, I need to just accept some things the way they are, period.

 I have been writing with the Five Minute Friday group for more than three years and I really enjoy the talented writers who share themselves each week.