“I suppose that every one of us hopes secretly for immortality; to leave, I mean, a name behind him which will live forever in this world, whatever he may be doing, himself, in the next.”
—A. A. Milne.
A lot of emotional moments this week and in this run-up to the Christmas season. I can feel it, an energy of sorts.
In the meantime though, I’m going to allow myself to coast through the next month or so because I am already feeling the pressure of the coming year, to make it everything this one was…and more.
My Misadventures issue on store shelf.
So, I have some projects on the go, sure, but I want to enjoy the final weeks of this momentous year before they are gone.
I am thankful for the struggle of writing that keeps me thinking and learning and growing and moving.
This novel thing is harder than I realized, but I don’t stop. I research and learn so I can keep on writing.
I don’t ever really get writer’s block. There is always so much to discover and share.
I have plans and goals to conquer.
I am thankful for perhaps smaller groups but new people still showing up amongst them.
Our writer’s group lost a few this week because of illness and other things, but I walked in and was unexpectedly met by a new voice. A man from New Zealand came to check out what our little writer’s circle was all about.
It helps. I had someone in the group read something I’ve been working on, out loud to everyone, and I received interesting feedback from them and someone new helps with a fresh perspective.
I hope he returns. All the different life experiences in our group can only be a benefit.
I am thankful that I haven’t given up on the violin and my mastery of it.
The challenge continues, won’t go away because it is something one must keep working on. I won’t master playing such an instrument, not in a year and not in two. I know it feels like a long road, but I am working and developing parts of my brain I didn’t know I had.
Seriously, this lesson I felt energized and wiped out, all at once. I think that’s a sign that I am right where I am supposed to be with it.
I am thankful for two Foundation of the Blind meetings in one week.
I started with the US NFB ((National Federation of the Blind) and those few months of being a part of their organization (VisionAware) has given me some idea of what to expect with this new challenge of the Canadian CFB.
I listened in on the AFB call on Tuesday and the CFB on Thursday.
We had a guest speaker at ours. We are working to get a new national system of sharing books and other reading materials in libraries all across Canada and I was super emotional about it.
I love the library, but I feel like I feel when I am in a bookstore. I am surrounded by the things I love most in the world…and yet, I can’t access most of it like everyone else.
I hope I can be a part of changing that, for myself and many others.
I am thankful for a chance to write about my chronic pain journey.
LIVING MY BEST LIFE – A JOURNEY WITH CHRONIC PAIN
I am thankful for friends who can access US bookstores.
Thanks, Sara, for doing that, since Canada has no Barnes & Noble stores.
She went to a Barnes & Noble and found this.
Sara, you rock!
I am thankful for movies that aren’t the biggest box-office blockbusters.
This is one of those not-a-super-hero movies that people might not know about or care to see, but I think we need more like it.
I am thankful for seeing things (like biographical movies) at the moment I am meant to see them.
I love biography because it tells the story of a person’s life. Every person has a story.
I am trying to write a novel about life for everyday people in Europe and such, during the two world wars that dominated the 20th century. It felt like a strange bookend. I think it helped me put some thoughts together though.
I am thankful for a simple fix for my phone from my handy techy brother.
It suddenly froze up on me and went mostly quiet. I need it to talk to me.
So, instead of feeling stuck and being about to take it to an Apple store, my brother thought of another way to reset a phone. I tried it and it worked.
I am thankful for another newly discovered cover to a song I already know and love.
“Those three words…are said too much…or not enough.”
—Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
Which words are they?
Her Headache 
To be in print.
Surely it is a multi-manifesting good thing.
It must feel good to know that the world says, ‘yes, this is on the level of that which makes into print.’ v cool
And then, there is the ripple you have created, (which I believe you are alluding to at the beginning of this post.
Once your story, your thoughts, your words are ‘out there’, (as opposed to in your mind) and they will always be there.
The world is different because of your efforts, your passion for this art. And while some might say, ‘it’s only one magazine issue, the incontrovertible fact is that ‘yesterday’ that particular issue did not exist.
It does now.
(I was thinking along these lines as I listened to one of college radio stations. There was a group I’d never heard of, liked the song and then the DJ said the record was from, like, the 1970s. And I got that sense that their music made into the world and a long time later I heard and enjoyed it.)
very congrats
So true Clark. My brother likes a lot of music most people have never even heard of. It is out there in the world, thanks to passionate and creative people, but it doesn’t get the attention necessary, like the latest pop hit on the charts. So, nobody hears it and it fades into the music library that exists. When I come across something that moves me, art of any kind, I wonder how any of it ever gets its time to shine.
I love reading about your life and the perspective you develop as you change and grow! It is wonderful to be officially in print and to have the acknowledgement that what you say is of value and should be shared with others. (Of course we in the blogsphere already knew that about you! 🙂
I am so glad your brother was able to suggest the right phone fix, nothing is more frustrating than losing our main communication tool! Mine is never more than an arm’s reach away, and I continue to marvel at what a magical invention it is!
Your comment about libraries and bookstores was sobering. I am so in love with both that I can’t imagine being there and knowing you are surrounded with all that goodness but much of it is inaccessible to you. I am glad you are working with an organization to promote awareness and development of more means of making content available.
I was happy to read that you are still working away at learning the violin. Even if progress feels very slow to you, it is note by note and skill by skill embedding itself in your mind and reflexes and one day you will be amazed at how far you have come!
This has been a stellar year for you, though certainly not an easy one, and I have ever reason to believe that the next will be even better because you have your heart set on growing, learning, and sharing! I wish you wonderful adventures in 2018! XOXO
I am glad I am able to see the stellar moments. I am glad violin is still on that list of achievements and events that have taken place in my life and in my year. Thanks Josie.
Yeah, it’s like a kid in a candy store, who gets their hand slapped away and is forbidden from having any of the treats surrounding them. It is a bittersweet torture, but I will work on that and hoping to get an essay out of the feeling as well.
The John Lewis Adverts are excellent! I love viewing them. I admire the talents of the artists who create them.
It is difficult to imagine ever totally mastering an instrument. It takes so much practice and mastering of oneself to even begin to play masterfully. I play the piano, but have quite a few challenges in playing it as well as I would like.
Reading about your journey with chronic pain was interesting. I remember how ecstatic I felt when I finally had some medication prescribed for me which actually gave me relief from a neuromuscular pain I’d been experiencing for a number of years. To have that relief is such a blessing. (This medicine also caused me to have horrible dreams for several weeks when I first started taking it and I was about ready to stop taking it when all of a sudden the dreams ceased.)
Goodbye Christopher Robin sounds like a movie I would enjoy. I too like biographical movies and also historical fiction.
I am so excited for the successful things you are experiencing. Have a great week.
Thanks Pat. One movie down and just three more to go see on the big screen by the end of the year.
Thanks and I wish you more mastery with your piano playing. I love the violin and won’t set it aside so easily.