PICTURE THIS
I awake at first light, the birds singing their morning song as I brew my coffee and head down the hall to my studio. The cat walks with me wrapping his tail around my legs, leading me to the front door.
Once at my desk soft light streams through my new stained-glass window and the hummingbirds work the feeders hanging outside. This is my sanctuary, the space I made for calmness and creativity. I sigh with contentment, reach for my notes, and begin editing my latest book.
A beautiful scenario you say. However, after months of procrastination, I am only just there. Last summer I had sent my manuscript to my first readers, received their insightful comments and put them aside where they sat through the long winter when I should have been writing and editing. Instead, I worked at decluttering, shredding old writing, getting rid of books, piling cardboard boxes with stuff, creating so much clutter that I couldn’t move let alone write.
I was stuck in a dark place.
I began to think about love, inspired by author Liz Gilbert, who writes letters of love to herself. (Look it up. Elizabeth Gilbert. Letters to Love.)
And I thought about my love for writing. Writing is my therapy, so why am I using my writing room as a dumping ground for all the homeless things in my life? If I were to write a letter of love to myself, I would say that I am loved, I have value and I am worthy of writing in a beautiful space, a sanctuary.
Last week something shifted. I moved furniture, cleared away the boxes, organized my manuscript and work notes, bought a woven throw-rug to brighten the room, and treated myself to a beautiful stained-glass window to hang over my writing desk. I created my sanctuary and began writing again.
If this is a bit woo-woo for you, think about this, another reason why I was suddenly able to work again: As of last week, Mars was no longer retrograde in Cancer. No longer stalling progress. Mars, which is involved in creativity in my chart, is flowing again. Hallelujah!
Whatever you believe, the fact is that this morning I awoke at first light….and with luck and a whole lot of love, And the Dog Came Too-Camping on the Coast will be published this year.
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~ Island Crone by Liz Maxwell Forbes
Dearest Liz,Sounds to me you were just where you needed to be in that dark place… the seed dreaming as Joan might say. Gestation is invisible and difficult and requires letting go of the unnecessary.
I’m so pleased for you to have your coloured glass to soften light through your window, shedding its hues upon your works in progress.
From Rilke: “
I live my life in ever widening circles that reach out across the world. I may not ever complete the last one, but I give myself to it”
I feel you are a brave beacon on the road ahead and I’m following you with assurance.💓💓💓
That’s it! The secret is out! Less is more: less clutter, more productivity. My “office” contains a small library of books (most of which haven’t been read in years), two filing cabinets of paper (when one drawer would hold all that I really need – likely will never refer to old manuscripts or files filled with research notes, or warranties for appliances I no longer have), cupboards stuffed with miniatures (a hobby I haven’t pursued in years), paint supplies (another abandoned hobby), and stuff I didn’t know what else to do with so filled up the only remaining empty shelf. My large cork board has notes pinned on it about events that happened three years ago. Some have more recent notes pinned on top of them – because there are no empty spaces.
Even so, I love my little nest in the middle of it all – a comfy big office chair, big desk top, and big desktop computer – surrounded by past and present near and dear. I admit though that I’ve barely written a line or done anything creative this past winter. Mars? Maybe. Overwhelmed with clutter? Perhaps. But the recent sunny days have lightened my step and jolted my energy. Spring! I’m finishing a major genealogy project right now and next on the list is a complete scouring of my office. And then… well, let the creativity commence!
Thank you, Liz, for your inspiration.
Ah yes, Liz, the clean and tidy office. It is a goal I am constantly working toward and seldom reach. Some days I want to write, other days I want to paint, and yet other days work on a piece of stone sculpture I started on before I moved to my condo. I have removed many old photographs to send to my children, gone through old drawings and paintings, my cupboard is full of them. Bits of ideas, poems, plays. What to discard? That little room, it seems, is full of my past, Is it because the thought of discarding any of it tells me I’m not ready to throw in the towel yet? Is there still something amongst the jumble I can still use?
I am editing, editing, editing ‘Mars’, and as I am a Cancer, if what you say is true, and Mars is no longer retrograde, maybe I’ll be able to finish the damn thing!
Thanks for your thoughts, Liz, it reminds me to think about the direction I am going, and maybe even getting there.
Looking forward to your published book, and may it be soon!