From Edie: Eva helps us discover how writers can refocus on what is good, find peace in chaos, and restore perspective through rest, faith, and intentional creativity.
Dipping the Quill Deeper: Refocusing on the Good and Choosing Peace and Perspective for the Writing Life
by Eva Marie Everson @EversonAuthor
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Phil 4:8 NIV).
Or was it last Friday? It seems like last Friday. But no. Friday was the day of JFK’s assassination. I remember my mother standing in front of the television, crying.
Last Thursday, a man was killed . . . and the whole world saw it.
Or was it last Thursday? It seems like last Thursday. But no. Thursday was the day of MLK’s assassination. I remember sitting on the floor, crying.
Last Wednesday, a man was killed . . . and the whole world saw it.
Or was it last Wednesday? It seems like last Wednesday. But no. Wednesday was the day of RFK’s assassination. I remember being at my friend’s house, getting the news from her corner-positioned television set.
Last Wednesday, a man was killed . . . and, just like before, the whole world saw it. But this time was different. This time we had 24/7 coverage. We had thousands of cell phone cameras pointed at the subject. This time we have the capability of reliving the trauma again and again and again whether we want to or not because our laptops, computers, and phones bring us the news and the reaction to the news nonstop.
Many of us are gutted. Some of us had to ask, “Who?” Others, horrifically, celebrated. And to be honest, I’m sure there were those who celebrated the deaths of the three men who died in the 1960s. But we didn’t have social media. Unless we were one of them, we didn’t know.
For those of us who have been in the processes of writing, whether under contract or not . . . for those of us who have been in the process of editing, whether under contract or not . . . for those of us who have been sludging through the days following (no matter where we are in our writing journey), the struggle has been real.
For me, I sit at my desk daily and write a chapter. The next day, as is my habit, I re-read (to edit) that chapter. Typically, I think, “Good start” and then give the work my editing best. But this past week, I re-read and think, “Who wrote this? It’s awful! It’s disconnected. It’s trivial.”
Focusing is difficult. Nearly impossible. “I need a mental health day,” I said a few times, although only to myself. Haven I taken one? Not yet. I have a conference coming up . . . and I’m the director. I have meetings scheduled. I have a blog to write. Emails to answer. Financial spreadsheets to balance. Not to mention beds to make, laundry to wash, dry, and fold, dishes to wash (okay, I put them in the dishwasher, but someone has to take them out and put them away and that someone is me). I have a daily word count to meet.
Then I learned that Charlie Kirk has a book releasing in December: Stop, in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life. In the introduction, the author calls this one day of rest as “God’s gift of grace.”
I needed that. And so, by the time you read this, I will have taken my day (I typically enjoy a Sabbath, but I’m taking about truly unplugging from all the madness. I will not think about my WIP. I will not think about the conference. I will not think about the news. I will not worry about the financial spreadsheets. I will only rest and think of the things Paul encouraged us to think about in his letter to the Philippians. I will think on these things: whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—anything excellent or praiseworthy. Perhaps I will grab my journal and draw out 8 columns, one for each of those “things” Paul listed. I will write them down. I will refocus and rethink only on those things.
Then, the next day, I will pick up where I left off (because the work will still be there). The next day, I will go back and re-read my work and, I’m believing, it will be “a good start.”
What about you? How do you cope when life becomes complicated but work still needs to be done?
TWEETABLE
No comments:
Post a Comment