Love when a book/author falls into my day and the words resonate within. I recently started reading books by Dani Shapiro and am re-reading them as soon as I finish. Here are a couple of sections from her Still Writing that rang true for my current life.
"It is my hope that~whether you're a writer or not~this book will help you to discover or rediscover the qualities necessary for a creative life. We are all unsure of ourselves. Every one of us walking the planet wonders, secretly, if we are getting it wrong. We stumble along. We love and we lose. At times, we find unexpected strength, and at other times, we succumb to our fears. We are impatient. We want to know what's around the corner, and the writing life won't offer us this. It forces us into the here and now. There is only this moment, when we put pen to page."
"If we are artists~hell, whether or not we're artists~it is our job, our responsibility, perhaps even our sacred calling, to take whatever life has handed us and make something new, something that wouldn't have existed if not for the fire, the genetic mutation, the sick baby, the accident. To hurl ourselves in an act of faith so complete that our fears, insecurities, hopelessness, and despair blur along the edges of our vision. We stop for nothing. It doesn't matter that no one has ever done it before~become a blues guitarist with two working fingers, been a dwarf in a show-jumping competition, turned North Carolina into Florida. It is in the leap of faith that the future unfolds, surprising us with what can be done."
Forgot to place the hyperlink with her blog in the text. Think you'd enjoy her 'Devotion'.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'd like the link in order to send to Tyler. He's writing and painting - newly launching into his almost adult life. I like your quotes even though I'm neither writing nor painting nor trying to make a living in the music world.
ReplyDeleteI've added the link~you should be able to click on her name and be taken to her website. As she says~we're all living a creative life!
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