Saturday 9 January 2016

Magic Lessons and my Hope for 2016

Happy New Year! I've just recovered from reading everyone's New Year's Resolution. What a motivated bunch of people there are out there. May the force be with you all while you work to achieve your goals. I am continually inspired by those making efforts to fulfill themselves creatively against all odds.

Feeling stuck? I've just come across Magic Lessons podcast by Eat, Pray, Love and Big Magic author Elizabeth Gilbert. Her first episode helps a blogger grapple with creative passion, motherhood, guilt, and the code of family loyalty. Gilbert has a melodic voice and if you don't mind a few enthusiastic AWESOMEs!! here and there you might just enjoy it! 

It's been a tough few months my end and I find myself reducing all my hopes for 2016 to: Can everyone I love please stay intact for the duration (and beyond)? 

There's nothing like death and disease for making you realise how little control we have over the future. Which is why they say we shouldn't live in the future. It makes me feel less ambitious somehow. Suddenly it feels just as important to enjoy a meal fully, as it does to publish a book. I don't think that's necessarily a negative conclusion either.

Anyway I don't believe that we are without ANY control. We can decide what we do with our present. January wouldn't be January for me without some sort of plan of action. Today I drew up  a simple grid to tackle my scheduled three months of editing my new novel. I've also just had the green light to write my second episode for an interactive fiction app I'll be able to share news about soon. 

With winter, life has become very peaceful on the island of Mallorca. For some, there is no work until Spring, but as a freelance writer there is always plenty to do. I suppose it wouldn't be normal to be highly motivated all the time, the key is just to stick to our creative path and keep going, step by step by step... 



2 comments:

Aradhna Sethi said...

Yes! As you said,"the key is just to stick to our creative path and keep going, step by step by step... "
And that isn't easy with all the distractions in the world ;)

Emily Benet said...

Thanks for reading Aradhna! I do love having a grid on my wall and something to cross off. It keeps me on the straight and narrow :)