Sunday, June 18, 2006

Sunday Scribblings #12 - Bed

"When in doubt, take a nap." - Sarah Ban Breathnach

P.S. I had the most wonderfully-connectedy- luscious (and hot) afternoon with some bloggie sisters - check out the pictures Susannah posted!!



I live in amazement when it comes to blogging. No matter where a post starts in my head, it never ends up where I think it will go! This Sunday Scribblings is supposed to be about 'Bed.' I meant to scan just the bed part of the picture and write a story about the girl who owned the bed. But now I just can't seem to get my act together.

I must admit that I co-started Sunday Scribblings as a means to make myself write some fiction. Instead I have used it as a means to look at my life in ways that I haven't before. I have used it as a way to get to know myself and for you to get to know me better. I think I have learned something about myself. Fiction is really not my thing right now. I love to write and I love having written a novel and I love the novel ideas that come into my head. But right now for some reason I just can't fiction. Who knows. It's easier to walk across the river if you don't fight the current right?!

This page is something out of my Illustrated Discovery Journal. I talk about this book a lot and I think I will talk about it more in the future as it really does tell me a lot about myself. It's something Sarah Ban Breathnach talks about in her book 'Simple Abundance.' Basically I go through magazines and anything that catches my eye for any reason I cut out and add to the book. Looking back through the pages I find that I am surprised by the insights I come to about myself. It's like reading a letter from my soul.

But what does this have to do with bed? Well, nothing except that as soon as I sat down to write about bed I thought of this picture. this is my second dream bed. My first dream bed is in my Illustrated Journal that lives under my bed in Canada so you'll have to wait to see it. But I think that this one (indeed this whole page!) says a lot about me. I think you can tell a lot about a person by looking at where they sleep. Right now I sleep in a big bed with white linens. The bed was a hand-me-down so we didn't pick it and Mark picked the linen - so really my bed says almost nothing about me. (Unless you look at the well-loved stuffed dog that lives on my pillow, the four half empty bottles of water on my bedside table, the fairy lights that are wound around the ugly headboard and the selection of various inspiring books by women writers on the floor!) So the bed in this picture should tell you something about who I would like to be.

I would secretly like to have a whimsical life. I would like to stop being practical and afraid and a worrier. I would like to sleep in a bed that makes me smile when I look at it. I would like to have a magical doorway in my house out to a magical garden. I would like to have a funny quirky 'Wendy-house' to write in. (That's what they call the little houses like the one in the picture in the UK.) I would like to be surrounded by friends and flowers and family and faerie-dust. And more than anything I would like to do nothing for income but write.

And yes, I got all of that from the topic of 'bed'. Sheesh.

15 comments:

paris parfait said...

I like the way you branched out from the bed topic into discussing the direction your writing is taking; the way things are going; what you'd like for the future. Lovely post!

Laini Taylor said...

I LOVE that cottage, and that bed, and I love the Discovery Journal idea -- I think I will start one, and I think I shall also FINALLY read some Sarah Ban Breathnach whose name I had never heard until I started blogging and now hear constantly. I am going to the bookstore later today anyway. Yay. The discovery journal idea is terrific -- and it would give me more reason to buy and maul beautiful magazines. Also, what you said about fiction/nonfiction, it's so interesting how many people I know are coming to that too -- Alexandra and Mardouggrl especially. I want to write my next post about finding what you love, learning to recognize and accept what you love doing; it's something that should be so natural, but we have so much input and feedback about what we think we should be doing, it gets very confusing.

ps - loved the pics of you and letha and susannah!

Becca said...

I love the idea of a discovery journal! Maybe I'll start mine while lying in bed tomorrow morning!

Deirdre said...

Now I know what to call the little house I want in the back yard! A Wendy house! I love this. And yes, I agree, often when I decide to write and begin in one place I find myself entirely somewhere else. It's one of the best parts of writing, really.

Susannah Conway said...

Meg, you inspire me to stop being so literal in my sunday scribblings and let my mind run free :-) i loved reading this cos now i've met you (hurrah!) i can see all the connections. when i come to Devon, can i have a peek at your Illustrated Journal maybe?
big kiss to you
x

Left-handed Trees... said...

I love your Illustrated journal--what a different sort of mind to tap into..."it's easier to walk across the river if you don't fight the current" is right. Maybe you should just honor that feeling for now.

susanlavonne said...

what a delightful journal and a poignant way to describe it..."letter from my soul"

and now, because of you, i too want a wendy house...what a fabulous idea! and just today i bought 2 strings of lights (little stringee like balls) meant for a patio but haven't quite decided where to hang them yet...no headboard but perhaps i'll "surprise" my husband by nailing them to the wall across the bed like a headboard!

i find it facinating how one thought leads to another...keep writing this way, Megg, and you WILL "do nothing for income but write."

Amy said...

Oh, I love the idea of this journal! How wonderful it must be to take a colorful look back on the past...

xo

Kim G. said...

The bed is lovely. Strong and yet light and rich looking with the golden bedspread. A beautiful inspiration. I hope that someday you'll have that bed! :) Thanks for sharing about your journal, sounds like a fun project to keep the creative juices flowing.

Anonymous said...

I came here today in a bit of a downhearted mood...no particular reason...just feeling bleh. But reading your post and your idea about the discovery journal has inspired me. Maybe all I needed was something to look forward to.

And I am in exactly the same place about fiction right now (although, ironically, I wrote a piece of fiction for this prompt!). For some reason, it just feels stuck. I think creative nonfiction is where I am, right now. Maybe if I stop fighting it...fiction will come back to me.

"I would secretly like to have a whimsical life. I would like to stop being practical and afraid and a worrier."

Yes, yes, yes. Thanks for saying that so perfectly!

HoBess said...

The places the Sribblings prompts have taken me have been so surprising. So, I'm not surprised at all that you got all of this out of bed ... and I can see exactly the place that you've painted for me and I think it's beautiful. Thanks again for starting Sunday Scribblings! And the pictures Susannah posted are priceless!

Yolanda said...

Lovely post and loved you idea book that you have.

Unknown said...

Great stroll through your thought process. It makes sense that when you think of bed, you think of your dreams. I love the "Wendy-house," and want one too!

Maybe I'll turn my blog into a kind of illustrated discovery journal...hmm...

Claudia said...

I love your page! That gorgeous little house!
You are on your way my dear, on your way to living that life that you imagine.

Nippon said...

It's nice when you see such a great work! Continue writing