On the fly one of my brothers threw a creative writing event this past Saturday night. My brother is not a writer and with the exception of myself, there wasn't any other self-described writers in the group.
I don't know if everyone had fun, but we all had a good time.
For most of the participants, it was a big stretch. One of the guys said, "I haven't written anything since college."
Someone else echoed him.
And so we set the timer and wrote about villains with feelings and monsters going on dates and the crazy things that keep a person from sleeping. We ate pretzels dipped in chocolate and chips with spinach and parmesan dip and we drank mint tea.
We transitioned from doing a regular hang out to doing something that stretched us.
That's what transitions do: they stretch us beyond our normal capabilities, beyond where we feel comfortable.
Yet amazing things happen when we choose to go through a transition phase of life. Here's what I noticed in our impromptu set-a-timer-for-6-minutes writing group:
Everyone felt a little nervous about sharing what they had just written.
No one was super confident in their abilities
Each person had at least one prompt that was surprisingly fun and good.
Each person who came to the group showed bravery by doing something that was completely out of their comfort zone.
Just Keep Trying
I also realized I'm not that smart. I'm not a grammar expert (I'm so, SO bad at grammer).
But some time back I decided I wasn't going to let all my lacks stop me from trying. So I'm out there, doing the work, writing stories, making art and daring to push publish.
One day, on my gravestone (if I have one) someone will probably just put these words: She kept trying.
Maybe I didn't get anywhere but maybe that wasn't the point. Maybe the point was to be brave and encourage others. There were others at that table that could probably write reams around me if they gave it a try.
I get concerned when I see people delaying their dreams. Maybe it's cuz I'm getting a little older and I realize life is going by fast. I'm not promised ten years, next year, or tomorrow. Today counts. Today matters. I want to share what I have, encouraging and inspire others (serve as a warning- ha!) and continue on.
I can't do that if I leave my gifts in the closet and my art on my hard drive. What counts is what is given away.
I read some amazing blogs last week. Maybe all of us bloggers were feeling nostalgic about the past year. Maybe a lot of people were sick and tired of business as usual. Maybe there is just a fresh wave of a desire to make today count as we think of words of the year and such. Holly Decker and Whitney English wrote from the heart in recent blog posts and their words reverberated over me all weekend long. If you are a blogger or an artists, do check out their posts. Monica Lee gave a great start to the week with a short video about how to move forward. One of my favorite bible teachers, Beth Moore, shared how she is changing- letting go to go to new places- it's scary stuff to get off the familiar road.
I feel like today is the first day we officially enter in to the New Year. Last year still felt a little vacation-y to me. As you go forward too, I hope you're are excited about the opportunities for growth. Transition is always a little uncomfortable and not so fun. But without transitioning, we won't become who we need to be - and neither will our heart.
From my heart to yours, may your week be full of joy!
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