Take time to Breathe

I have a life after all!

So you’re a writer are you? Do you have a life? I know from experience that in my pursuit of my dream, somewhere along the misty shaded path a rich aroma came crawling up and it was the scent of burnt toast.

The odor awakened me to all I was missing as I spent hour upon crippling hour on the computer. My mind was enveloped in a story, or aiding and abetting the writer in their journey, so much so I lost sight of the world around me, my reality.

You too will find that your world will be absorbed like a slow step into quicksand, you find yourself slowly being sucked down and even down further into a place of unknown origin.

Your family is annoyed, husbands are neglected, children have become distant and the family meal is no longer a group gathering, it is a T.V dinner tossed in the microwave and you leave everyone to fend for themselves.

Who ARE these people and why are they hindering your pursuit of the writing dream? Well my friends, they are your reality. Those people are the very reason you continue to pursue your dream. Those people are the ones who came to depend on your consistency before the computer became your new family. Arms and legs pained by the excessive amount of time that keeps you from even standing and looking out the window at the gorgeous sky and land that surrounds you.

You find that your ‘new family’ is more understanding of your pursuits. You find that chatting with them actually gives your life new meaning and as you dive into the shallow water, you find you’re swimming with a new set of sharks and have left the shore of playful loving dolphins behind.

Many people have jobs outside the computer that gives them time to drink in the reality of their lives. They glimpse all the beauty throughout the day, inhale the fragrance of the seasons, grasp the leaves and soil that is a part of Earth, shudders at the tremulous noise awakening your senses to new heights. You feel as if you’ve lost something and know there will come a time when you wake up to the realization that while you were being selfish, you lost something that you had cherished, your family.

Prioritizing your writing life is essential to a well-balanced soul. As you seek out the writer within never forget those surrounding you in your home. Neglecting them is like allowing years to pass without calling your mother who lives on the other end of the country. Would you do that? For writing? When we can overlook what is most important to our lives, we neglect to find the true meaning to life and happiness.

This past year, a lot of soul searching has gone on in my life. While I love writing, I love going all out to help the new writer, so much so it used to absorb my day until I forgot who I was! As I tried to jump back in I realized, you know what, the writing life went on without me and is managing just fine, I think I like my reality more than a keyboard that gives no hug; a monitor that glows until my eyes bleed; Reading unending words that flow and flow like a perpetual chimney of smoke.

There is more to life than a hum of a computer. There are sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touching to be had. Use life the way it was intended.