See you soon!

For the past few days I have been working my way through the book, 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho. I am reading it for my books group. I admit to beginning to read with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I don't like to read or watch things with too much hype. I wanted to be the only person in the world who hadn't seen Titanic because I didn't want to give in to the hype. I almost didn't read any of the Harry Potter books for the same reason. I kind-of felt this way about this book. I have found that when there is a great deal of hoopla about something I get disappointed when I do see or read it.

Luckily I admit to enjoying this book very much. It's a sweet story with wonderful lessons. Interestingly it is a very simple phrase that has been coming back to me again and again. I had to go back through the book to find it. Usually when I read I either fold down the corners of pages or put in bookmarks or write softly in pencil beside passages that hit me. This was so small that it didn't register until I had read past it.

The boy and the alchemist are riding across the desert having a conversation about alchemists. The boy asks about some of them and why they didn't succeed in their quest.

"They were looking only for gold," his companion answered. "They were seeking the treasure of their destiny without wanting actually to live out their destiny."

That passage just resonated for me. I think that I have been guilty of this for the past little while. So worried about money and the lack of it, I have been looking towards what will happen when we finally have more of it. I have been missing the fact that the journey - the process - is more important that what I am going to get at the end. By thinking in this way I am stifling any creativity and process that might actually create something that might be saleable. No one is going to buy a book written by a stress-case. It will be forced and unnatural and won't fill them up. People will buy books written by someone who is living in the centre of her experience. People will respond to writing that is about life, not about the paycheck that it will bring.

I am off in a couple of hours for a trip HOME. I am doing a one-week flying visit to Canada. It is going to be a crucial rejeuventation for me. Canada. Sigh. I won't be posting very much. I am going to be filling the well, the heart, the belly and the soul. I'll be hugging my loved ones close and meeting new loved ones and eating lots and lots of my Mom's cooking! I'll be back next week - filled up and ready to post much more often. In the meantime, love to you all. Keep safe and well and take care of you.

xo