I’ve been doing a lot of thinking this week. That’s nothing new. I’m prone to random thoughts, bouts of pensive episodes and daydreaming.
So here’s what I’ve been up to: this week I have been drawn to a few bands I haven’t listened to since I was a teenager, I met some amazing people, I’ve decided to write letters, stop waiting around for things and I’ve also been reading a lot of spectacular content online. That’s a lot of random stuff, huh?
While these things seem to have not much in common or have a feasible thread between them, in my mind, they’re tightly interwoven together.
Through my experiences over the past week, I’ve realized a few things:
1. Music always has the power to transport me back to another time.
Listening to some of the music I identified with during my teen years made me think of some of the things I used to wish for as a teenager. It made me think about the kind of life I thought I’d be living right now. I’m not living that life, and for the most part I am happy about that, but that’s another blog post ;-). There are some parts of my life the teenage me would be squealing with glee about. Like the fact that I am a writer.
2. Art is in all of us.
I met some awesome people this week through my freelance writing. I’ve met a lot of artists lately, honestly, I’ve met lots of artists throughout my adult life and I used to think this was nothing but a coincidence, that I was just drawn to the more artistic set. However, now I am starting to see we all have an innate desire to create. We’re all artists, in our own unique way. Most of us are too afraid to show others our gifts, but some people’s art just comes through, either in the snazzy, creative way they dress or through preparing meals that are as beautiful to look at as they are tasty to eat.
3. We’re wasting time.
There seems to be a growing trend in our culture, of waiting. With our fast-paced lives and high-speed, technology-based culture, you would think the opposite would be true. Alas, it is not. I think part of the reason I came to the realization that we’re becoming a culture of fearful waiters is because I’ve been reading a lot of Nina Yau’s blog lately. If you’ve never read her blog, you should start. Not only is her writing beautiful and thought-provoking, but it is also potentially life changing.
What I’ve noticed is there are a lot of people who are waiting. For what you ask?
For the economy to get better, so they can look for a better job. For their ‘golden years’ so they can finally travel, pursue their dreams and live the life they want. For their soulmate to come along and complete their lives. But what happens to them as they wait?
Well, time marches on. Life passes them by. And opportunities are missed. Dreams are forgotten, talent is wasted.
I myself have been guilty of ‘waiting’. I waited for a long time to publish my own novel, and I had lots of excuses why I shouldn’t. Maybe I’m not good enough, maybe no one will buy it, maybe people will think my story is so bad, it could never be published through a traditional publishing house and that’s why I’m publishing it myself. I have sold some books, and I am happy to say I’ve gotten good feedback so far, so I know my above fears are not true. Would I have learned all of this through waiting? No, of course not. I learned this by doing, by living.
Amanda Bretz 