Leave Your Ghosts in the Dust

***This is a post I wrote earlier this year. I felt the need to, once again, let this message fill the sacred space on my blog. I hope these words move and inspire you. I hope they make your burden a little easier to bear.

Along with the fluctuating temperatures and my weight, my moods have been up and down, high and low, euphoric and devastating.

Has my life always been this way and I somehow hadn't noticed? Or, has the emotional roller coaster I've been hanging onto for dear life over the past few years blurred my sense of reality? I'm not sure, but I do know life has been atypically bumpy, and it's making me dizzy.

Lately, I find myself spending an inordinate amount of time questioning the path my life has taken and wondering at what point I will feel whole and complete again. At times, bitterness, anger, and intense sadness cloud my insanely beautiful life. The frustrating part is knowing I have the power to change my thoughts, but not doing it every time the bad ones invade.

This is one of the great mysteries of being human: knowing we have powers, yet not utilizing them to our best ability. Why do we do this? Who knows. Maybe it's too hard to face the possibility of our absolute magnificence.

Thankfully, I'm an optimist at heart, so it doesn't usually take too long to grapple my way out of my self-imposed dungeon. I remember the importance of placing one foot in front of the other, and, by doing that, I realize there are many things to learn from the crescendos and decrescendos of my ever-changing emotions.

For example:

1) Experiencing the ups and downs of life is part of the human condition. It's "normal."

2) Moving forward after a major breakdown can be both euphoric and depressing; often within the same day or even the same hour. Don't just deal with the craziness of your emotions; revel in them. They prove you're alive. Free. Changing. Growing.

3) The people who stand by you during the insanity of a major life change are golden/priceless/irreplaceable/saint-like. Thank them often. Let them know how special they are. Buy them wine and chocolate.

4) It takes time to reprogram your vision of how you believed your life would be. The sooner you're able to leave your ghosts in the dust, the sooner you'll be able to create a richer life with new relationships, goals, and dreams.

5) Be appreciative of every minute of every day. Remember, the stronger the challenge, the stronger you'll be once you get through it.

6) Trust yourself. Love yourself. Be your best friend.

Moving on often entails experiencing excruciating feelings of sadness, abandonment, jealousy, and anger. But dealing with difficult emotions has its rewards, like letting you know how deeply you can feel; how joyously you can dream; how passionately you can love.

Don't let the roller coaster slam you against an emotional wall. Ride it until it slows and gently lets you off in a quieter place; a more peaceful place; a place where you can get your bearings; a place where you can begin, once again, to create something beautiful, lasting, and unimaginable.

Trust yourself. Place one foot in front of the other. Leave your ghosts in the dust.

Have you had a period of emotional turbulence you thought you couldn't get through? If so, how did you overcome it?

This May Be "The One!"

I'm in the midst of writing a new book, and I've been laughing. A lot. If truth be told, I've been shamelessly cracking myself up. I dare say that as far as my women's fiction writing is concerned, this may be "The One!" 

At this stage of the writing game (a smidgen shy of the halfway point), the book is brilliant. I'm writing prose that will move readers to tears, incite unbridled laughter, and cause intense personal transformations. Said another way, I'm handcrafting words like beer makers in an Oregon microbrewery.

Of course, as any writer worthy of the title knows, the first half is the easiest. Precisely two-thirds of the way through is where we want to slit our muse's throat and resort to more mindless occupations, like flying jet planes or performing brain surgery.

Thankfully for me (and, especially, my loved ones), I'm at that cozy, delusional place we writers lust after; the place where we know we're writing something brilliant, lasting, that will win us awards, be envied by all, and afford us a mansion in the Hamptons. 

I adore this place and plan to luxuriate in it for at least 10,000 more words. At that point, I may ask said loved ones to flush my sleeping pills, dispose of sharp objects, and unplug both large and small electrical appliances. 

Until then, however, I FREAKING ROCK!

Now, who would like the privilege to pass me - the next Stephen King, Bill Shakespeare, Kate Atkinson, Chelsea Handler, and Erma Bombeck combined - my slippers, give me a hot stone massage, and feed me wine and chocolates?  

(And, please, people, no fighting. Remember, it's all a basket of kittens until someone gets hurt.)

Subliminal Tuesday: WRITING BREAK! [Not!]

My parents are in town visiting me in my new place, and I couldn't be happier! [Nervous as hell. Will they love it? Hate it? Will they crave a different brand of coffee than the one I went to three stores to buy especially for them? Will they expect me to get up before 9AM to hunt down said coffee?] Their visit means, WRITING BREAK!

Of course, the minute I decided this, was the same minute I got bombarded with fascinating ideas for my current wip. Isn't my muse AWESOME? [Masochistic lunatic.] As a conscientious writer, I'll make sure my 'idea notebook' is with me at all times so as not to miss a single nugget [golden, not chicken-fried] from my brilliant muse whenever she sees fit. [Like while I'm on a roller coaster ride or being pulled over by one of Philadelphia's finest for speeding on Route 422]. Gosh, I love my thoughtful muse! [Cruel, slave-driving maniac.]

 

So, dear friends, I'll be back after the visit from my lovely parents [who, as I write this,  are requesting a different brand of coffee] refreshed and ready to spread my wisdom and joy to the masses. [My muse forced me at gunpoint to write that last bit.]

Keep it classy, y'all!