Happy New Year everyone! What does this time of year mean to
The new year
brings a chance for me to look back at who I was
a year ago and examine and
understand my journey up to this moment of time. By understanding
the past, we can open up to the future and embrace the
next exciting chapter of life. Polls report that only one-third of us make new year resolutions, and that the 70% of us who do, believe that our lives next year will remain the same, neither getting better, nor getting worse. No wonder our resolutions never come to fruition!
Life is too
precious to only exist, to be static. I want to look forward to tomorrow. I
want more -- more adventure and more excitement. I want to give more, meet more strangers and get to know them. Most of all, I want to make a difference. 
Whether some one is a farmer , or barber or long haul trucker, we all struggle through life’s challenges and changes. How do some of us learn to rise up and thrive while others only exist? How did someone like me who worked as a pet groomer since the age of eleven, become the author of six books, to date?
As I relate my newest blog series, “The Story Behind The Story,” it is my hope that we all might connect on some level.
The Story Behind The Story
Coast To Coast With A Cat And A Ghost
The Story Behind The
Although 80% of the
public have considered writing a book,
the thought never entered my mind. I had things to say, but those jumbled ideas swarmed
inside my head, like ping pong balls ricocheting around in a lottery machine. Whatever kind of lucky
number destined to roll out in front of
me, becoming an author had never been a
consideration. 2010 found me content
with my life, contemplating retirement
from my pet grooming business. Anticipating
the free time, I signed up for a creative writing class. I thought it would be fun.The first exercise in my creative writing class was to write for ten minutes about the color red. The task perplexed me. What could any one say about the color red for ten minutes? But striving to be a good student, I put my pen to paper and began.
An amazing thing happened! When I sat down to write, the words, the stories, the books ---they had all been there in my mind, waiting for me to access them. They flooded out onto the paper like a flash flood busting loose from its dam. I was on my way.
Maybe it is not writing you dream about. Perhaps you have toyed with another passion which seems just as foolish. Sit down. Paint that landscape, or take a woodworking class or volunteer at your child’ school . What ever your niggling desire, feed it. You will be inspired.
I intended Coast To Coast With A Cat And A Ghost to be an adventurous travel log, a how to book of a widow woman traveling in a motorhome across country with her cat.
.
A quiet voice guided me as I wrote Coast To Coast With A Cat And A Ghost. Today I believe the guidance came from something bigger and more knowing than me. The messages come in a friend’s advice, “You ought to write a book about that,” or from a passerby who says, "You have inspired me," or sometimes it is a feeling.
No matter that no one else hears, it only matters that I hear the guidance.
The voice has grown stronger, louder. It no longer lives in my head but has taken up residence in my heart. When I am afraid and feeling too vulnerable to pour out my secrets on paper, the voice assures me that the story I am writing is not mine , but instead, it belongs to everyone. And so, I trudge on.
When I wrote Coast To Coast I had only wanted the story to be a simple travel log. Yet, this driving force in my head and now my heart, insisted that the story was bigger than I imagined -- that it was a story to instill hope in others, a story to make the rough road others traveled a little smoother. This passion which pushes me onward insisted that the story be one which will make a difference.
As I wrote, the real story evolved. The tale did not focus on the negative aspects -- the physical challenges of a lonely widow, facing unknown obstacles. Instead the message zeroed in on my reactions to the fears and doubts as I confronted them.
The message became, "Life’s challenges mold us." If we can find the fortitude to keep on, we will survive and evolve courageous and strong .
Today I have the faith and am encouraged that tomorrow’s adventures will change me. Nothing ever stays the same. There is no status quo.
If I express who I am, I blossom. I heal. I become more. And most important, through my expression I help others to find their way.
THE GRIEVING GIFT
Janice’s
older sister, Margaret, wanted to believe that the L.A. doctors at Cedars Sinai
Medical Center held a magical deck of cards, but after eight years of treatment
they dealt their final card. The Hospice card. No miracles for Margaret. Janice
reassures her big sister she will be there, holding her hand every step of the
way.
On a death watch, you get to
know things about a person you wish you didn’t. It is like a roller coaster
ride. And like most rides, it brings us back to the place we began, reminding
us of who we were and who we have become.
The twists and turns of
Janice’s emotional journey transports her back through the repercussions of her
teen pregnancy and into the present estrangement from her daughter, whom she
has not heard from for the last sixteen years.
Coming to terms with the grief
of losing her sweet Margaret, and dealing with her fear of a lonely future is
too much for Janice to imagine. When Margaret’s soul goes to rest in L.A.
heaven, how will Janice face the emptiness? Will there be such a thing as a
Grieving Gift?
Sportster's Blog: The Cat's Perspective Of Reading, Writing And Life
Safe travels!
Click on the link below to find out more about Judy's books.
Oh, and don’t forget!! Readers’ reviews keep writers motivated.
USEFUL LINKS
Other books by Judy Howard: JUDY’S AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE
Judy's Blog: The Adventures Of An RV Widow
Sportster's Blog: The Cat's Perspective Of Reading, Writing And Life
Click on the link below to find out more about Judy's books.
Safe travels!
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