With Purpose

Hi Writers,

What are your plans for this year? Are you going to remodel your kitchen? Work on those abs? Oh wait, those are my plans!

How often do we get distracted by “important tasks” that pull us away from our deeper purpose? Fantasy football sounds like a hoot, but if it is keeping you from writing the book that has been nagging at you for five years, then it is not a hobby, but a distraction.

With the Internet, and social media, we can now feel busy without getting anything done. The irony is that we make art to feel connected, but can now accomplish that through Facebook – except that the connection we receive through social media is transient. It is junk food. We can eat it all day long, and experience the immediate gratification of being “liked” yet not feel any closer to knowing ourselves or others.

Or . . .

We can shut ourselves away in a room for hours on end, pouring our thoughts and ideas onto the page, with no guarantee that anyone will ever read a word of it.

Why would anyone choose the latter?

My friend, the author Eric Miles Williamson, says, “I hate writing. I just hate the feeling of not having written even more.” He’s written seven books.

We are all here to fulfill a purpose. Whether we do or not is up to us. When we approach our creative work as a practice, and begin to celebrate our progress, we are often surprised by the result.

This is your time. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Let’s begin.

Happy New Year!

Your fellow writer,
Al