There are times when I doubt myself and become frustrated, tired or a combination of all of these things. I am human after all and the life of a writer, especially in today's age, is not glamorious or forgiving. I look back when I was young and miss the time I had on my hands. I went to school, worked part-time and did whatever else I wanted. I spent a lot of that time doing fun things and yet I did not do a lot of writing. I squandered much of that time, waiting for my muse to come and speak to me. I was a romantic ater all, loving Wordsworth and the rest of the poets.
Flashforward two decades and now between work, raising a family, trying to make time to exercise and a whole list of other responsibilities, I miss my free time. Time when I could read whatever I wanted and time to listen to music or go see a movie. What I miss the most is the time I had to read and think to just think. Writers need to read and to just be. But what I liked so much about reading was my ability to escape reality and travel to far off places or get into the minds of characters that would be impossible for me to experience in life.
When I think of all the things I "should" do, I know that I cannot do it all. Sometimes it is important to pull back, relax and enjoy life for a bit. Sometimes I need to rest and take care of myself--sleep and rest. The challenge is to admit all of this and then to act.
I share this as a reminder to myself that writing is like life and is filled with both up and down times. I'm going to go now and listen to what my body needs. Rest. For those of you who are writers, be easy on yourself.
You Can't Do It All
There are times when I doubt myself and become frustrated, tired or a combination of all of these things. I am human after all and the life of a writer, especially in today's age, is not glamorious or forgiving. I look back when I was young and miss the time I had on my hands. I went to school, worked part-time and did whatever else I wanted. I spent a lot of that time doing fun things and yet I did not do a lot of writing. I squandered much of that time, waiting for my muse to come and speak to me. I was a romantic ater all, loving Wordsworth and the rest of the poets.
Flashforward two decades and now between work, raising a family, trying to make time to exercise and a whole list of other responsibilities, I miss my free time. Time when I could read whatever I wanted and time to listen to music or go see a movie. What I miss the most is the time I had to read and think to just think. Writers need to read and to just be. But what I liked so much about reading was my ability to escape reality and travel to far off places or get into the minds of characters that would be impossible for me to experience in life.
When I think of all the things I "should" do, I know that I cannot do it all. Sometimes it is important to pull back, relax and enjoy life for a bit. Sometimes I need to rest and take care of myself--sleep and rest. The challenge is to admit all of this and then to act.
I share this as a reminder to myself that writing is like life and is filled with both up and down times. I'm going to go now and listen to what my body needs. Rest. For those of you who are writers, be easy on yourself.
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