I’m sure some of you out there have made the bold attempt to write a book. It seems like everyone I meet wants to write a book. Then I walk into the Dollar Store and see all these books for $1 and I feel so bad for all the authors.
I think we all feel like our lives could be a story someone else would want to read about. Even in fiction you know that one of the characters in the novel is the author. Life is just so chocked full of stuff in our lives. Go to a party some time. What you are hearing are stories. There are lots of good ones. But I’m digressing.
So, I’m trying to write a book with my daughter. She’s a spiritual intuitive. The first draft resembled War and Peace. I feel so bad too for my close friends willing to look at it. Actually, I’m still waiting to hear back from them again. Just kidding, I heard from one. So, I’ll run with that advice and now it’s going to be one of those little pocket books that can be read on a short airline flight or drive to Los Angeles. It’s fun attempting to do it. I’ll bet most all of you out there could actually write a book if you wanted to. You just start out with an outline. After that it should all just flow. Even if no one read it but your family, well, that book will be around for a long time in your family and maybe a great grandchild will one day try to publish it. Wouldn’t that be great? My pastor Rick Myatt brought up a point in last week’s sermon. He was trying to explain how important each day is. He asked if anyone ever heard of Uta Hagen. She’s usually a question in a crossword puzzle. She was the most famous actress in the world in the 1890’s. Point is, by the great grandchild, no one will know who you are. Point is, live this life to its fullest and move on.
Bob Richards is a friend and a co-real estate broker from La Costa who has primarily retired into writing now. He’s living his baby boomer dream. He planned wisely to live doing what he loves and that is writing. He too simplified his life so that his life became quality time. Bob can wander into the past for stories and immerse himself in another world with peace. Then the grandkids come running in and he pops back into reality for a while. See, to me, that’s life. Being at peace and doing what you want to do and having loved ones near.
The recession really kicked my rear end. I was inside the bubble that burst. I really didn’t think I’d ever see the day that I could retire or semi-retire. I thought that if I did it would be under a bridge somewhere or high up in a mountain with critters. But, I was 60 and said to myself, get debt free in two years. It was a reasonable goal and I set out on a path to not only do that but to also buy a great place in Mexico on the water. It wasn’t that hard once you put your mind to it. You have to be positive though, even when you hit some speed bumps.
It’s a new Chinese New Year. It’s the year of the Snake. Snake people are great. My daughter is one. They seem to be the prettiest sign in the bunch so maybe this will be a very pretty year. Who knows? I’m an ox. Go figure, but it fits, darn it. Obama is an ox. So were Hitler, Hussein and Stalin. And I want to write a book about spirituality? Really? Por supuesto que si!
My friend Patty Clark is determined to be a writer. She joined one of those writer blogs on the internet and she got picked up by a paper in Kansas City of all places. Hats off to Patty!! Patty didn’t give up hope either and she’s simplified her life too. It’s a new year. You can keep kicking it at work if that’s what brings you peace, but if it’s on a beach, mountainside, ship or cycling through France that is lingering in your head, find a way to do it and be a writer or a painter or a cabinet maker. Just do it, you don’t know when God is going to give you the last day so live it in peace(with a little love from family too).
