Each and every time I have to submit articles for the publications I write for, there is this whiny, nagging and just a little bit witchy (maybe replace the "w" with a "b" and it is a better descriptive word) voice inside my head that says "Just who do you think you are??!"
Then one morning, I will roll over and wake up with a renewed state of confidence and fire off my words and buff my nails against my chest and after reading something I have written, I will think "That was good. That was really good."
The morning after that one, I reread those very same articles and realize I was just a little delusional to think my writing was anything more than mediocre honesty, at best.
Then I carry on with living my merry little life and just write about things that really don't matter. Sometimes, little things come to the surface as I make my way through my quiet, predictable life I lead and I think I make a good point now and again. Certainly not always.
This week has been a little bit of a "Who in the world do you think you are???" kind of week. But I just keep on writing. A little here and there and sometimes not at all.
Then, two days in a row, I received a little feedback on some words I put out into this great big world. People I have never met gave me the gift of telling me how they integrated some of my little metaphors-for-living into their own universe. They told me a little piece of their story and how it fit into what I wrote.
Wow.
I write an awful lot of nonsense. This I know. Some days I will start out writing about one thing and then get derailed before I get back to my point. My fingers have a mind of their own and if I don't censor them, sometimes they have something more important to say than the rational side of my brain is trying to write.
It was one such day, when I thought "Why in the world am I writing this?", that evoked a comment from a friend I have not yet met in person (we have been penpals for twenty years - I wrote a little about our friendship at a distance here).
It was the part of my tale where I let myself get sidetracked from the moral of my story that spoke to her.
The day after my penpal friend wrote such encouraging and touching words, I received an email from an editor who has become a "virtual friend" who quoted my words and cited an example of how they applied to life as she knew it.
This week has been sprinkled with encouragement. Family and friends have written &/or called just when I needed it the most.
My cousin called me yesterday and told me of the reaction my uncle had as he "lapped up" the last letter I wrote to him. She asked me if I remembered what I had written (I didn't). She told me I had said something to the effect of "feeling like I was sitting down and having a cup of coffee with him"and this was a part of the letter he shared with her. She asked him, "What would you think of sitting down and having that cup of coffee with her?" He replied, "I think that would be great!" Little did he know that my mom and I are planning on being there, sipping on a cup of java with him in less than four weeks from now.
Simply hearing my cousin describe the way my uncle felt as he touched and read my letter was such a gift. I can't remember what I wrote about. I just put pen to paper and let the words tumble onto the page. They seem to be words that touched a chord with him.
I think I could have written anything. Sometimes it is the mere act of seeing a person's handwriting that brings them right into your world and touches you.
Some people write. Some people call. Some people act in giving ways.
If you feel you have something to say to someone, please say it. Write it. Communicate it in whatever form that feels most comfortable to you. What you are holding onto is a gift. Share it with the one who has inspired you.
I feel like I've been touched by angels this week. Simple words have come to me from so very many different directions. Each set of them have been a gift.
Thank you, Universe! You have been incredibly generous!! I appreciate it more than you will ever know.
Sprinkle kindness generously throughout your day. If someone touches you in some way, let them know it. You will never know the difference a few simple words can make to someone who is having "a day" that they aren't wearing on their face.
A little kindness goes a long way.
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