Choices

On rare occasions, someone says something and it makes me pause and repeat it to myself once, twice, three times if needed so that I can remember to take it out and look at it later when I’m alone and surrounded by silence. A few of those still moments include: Ride with a purpose, You were in a rut, Is being safe worth giving up the risk of doing something else, When you are emotional that’s when the demons get in, You’re a good writer but you’re not great. Yes, lots to unpack here, a generous opportunity to traverse yet more interior landscape in the search for meaning, for peace, for courage, for the center of oneself. I would give a pound of love for an ounce of bravery.

The last 2 days have been an exercise in focusing attention on editing instead of whirling dervishes of the unknown, uncertainty, and a plethora of things out of my control. Chapters 1-10 in Da&Dr have been edited to the nth degree. I’m thinking this will make the rest of the edits easier. Since I’m on page 64 out of 247, it appears I’ll get ample opportunity to prove myself right or wrong. I was looking at doing a cover reveal by the end of the month. It may be more practical to look at the end of July. And when that cover reveal does happen, I’ll be looking at my list, my chart, my queue and deciding what comes next.

There are many decisions we are asked to make: to wear a mask or not; to eat at a restaurant or not; to idle our car at a stop light or turn it off; to pay attention to or ignore the packaging in the products we buy; to eat vegetarian/vegan meals at least once a week or keep carnivorous habits 365 days a year; to purchase from small businesses or online giants. The list goes on indefinitely. And maybe our decision today is to take just one area and make a choice. Perhaps that choice will open up connections to something else where purpose and meaning can be found. I’ve decided to finish editing this novel, to keep posting on social media about my writing and my author brain, to love who and what I have in front of me.

Here’s to being aware, to paying attention, to making choices.