How Long Has This Been Going On?

Mood: Quiet
Category: You and Writing

Currently on my IPOD: I Am Not My Hair: India Arie (Girlfriends....go listen to this song right now. It is my theme song for life.)


Quote of the Week:

"So complex is the human spirit that it can itself scarce discern the deep springs which impel it to action."

The White Company

~Sir Arthur Conan Doyle


Dear Friends, Kids, Fans and Space Aliens,

First off, I have to apologize for not posting in a few days. Well, I should have posted on Tuesday as was my intent, but now it is Monday and I am tardy. I am usually tardy. But that's okay, I have lived with myself this long, so why not continue to be me. And then I ask, how long has this been going on? This. I'm talking about the me that I am talking about now. Between everything...my health, failing health, kids, life, and now to add to the mix my writing, I have to ask that question. This weekend rounds the two and a half year mark of when I started writing. It feels like much longer...

Just like with many good things, it always feels as though you have been doing it all your life.

So,I have to reflect on how I got here. Hmmm, out of boredom? Nope. I have to say that I am one of those people who like to go people watching. I need an Audubon Society Field Guide to Western Region Human Beings... Maybe that should be my next book...I got here for a number of reasons, but it all stemmed from one desire. To get it all down. I was reading a book that was absolutely terrible and I said...I CAN DO THAT! I can probably even do it better than that. And this book had come to me as highly recommended!

I had that driving need to define the undefinable, to put into words the what, who, how, why, and when of human nature. There are some people that come into your life that give you more of a push off the writing cliff than others. There are some people you meet and say, Wow...I wonder what the hell it is that makes them tick. But then there are others that you meet and say, they're different...And not in a good way, they're different in a way that you want to keep them at a distance and then write about them later as the man your character meets in the back of an alley and gets mugged. I saw one of those yesterday walking down the street in Santa Barbara. There was a man, seemingly disheveled and indigent who was walking down the street with his dog, and his cat and his rat. A motley crew to say the least.

But the dog had the cat on his back and the rat sat beneath the cat, probably for warmth. Later on in this parade of different types of beings (nicely put) the rat was draped around the cat's neck as if it was a trophy or prize or shawl for being that weird cat who rides upon the dog's back. I also have to add to this that the cat nor the rat were tied down or in any type of harness. They were content to be themselves. As they should be. They obviously had not read the book that all the other cats and dogs and rats have read that says that this mix of species should not get along, at least not in this capacity. It was a very warped Dr. Seuss book in the making. I am sure that a story will come out of this moment at some point when I have the time.

But there are moments in life that define who we are. It is because of these moments, I write. Why be quiet with what you are doing. Why be cold, calloused and shy when it comes to your passion. I am not. Those who know me, know that I am the total opposite of this. So, I go and watch and know that in any given moment, someone else's life is being defined by that second of that day. What I failed to mention is that this man with the cat, dog and rat was talking to a policewoman. Seconds before I took notice of the animal train, I noticed that there was another indigent individual who was badgering him, swearing at him and generally making his life very unpleasant. He was just panhandling for money with his animals. Not something I generally am okay with, but hey, it's his life.

Regardless, I write because I am interested in the human condition. What makes us tick, why are there certain moments that we react to more strongly than others, what is it that conditions the spirit to love, to lie, to continue living the life we are living or to change it up and throw in a little excitement.

I believe that is why most writers write. To get it all down. If we don't write it down as we see it, then something one day might be missed. I entered Smith Magazine's 6 word Memoir contest...

This pretty much sums my writing up: "Rewriting history as I see it."

Why do you write? What is it that makes you do the things you do? I would love to hear from my readers...I get a few comments here and there, but lets make this a discussion. Tell me. Sit down and have a cup of joe and tell me your story. How did you get to where you are right now?

This is what it's all about.

Yours in Humanness, Hands On The Keys and Hanging On Until I Find Success,

Cicily