One Step Forward and Two Steps Back

It may seem like it, but I'm not referring to dance steps with my title.  Do you ever feel like you're making headway with life only to be thrust back to where you began or even further behind? If your holiday season is anything like mine, your mind is doing cartwheels just to keep up with gifts, guests, presents and food. Oh, and don't forget writing!

Don't get me wrong, I still love this season and the spirit of giving, but some days I just want to collapse amidst the mess or better yet, I'd love to just sneak off into a closet with my laptop and write. I've been fortunate this week in that I've done near this (I got to sneak off with my laptop just not in a closet) and made it a productive week for work, but we don't always get these opportunities and we can't always find immediate reprieve from the chaos. So how do we deal?

If you've read any of my blogs, you probably know by now that I'm a "glass half full" type of person. I've learned that when life gets busy or tough or seems unbearably difficult that you just have to take one step at a time. Since I was a kid, I've always had scary tornado dreams when life seemed to get overwhelming. Strange since I never grew up seeing tornados other than on the television. In fact, while I do find them frightening, I also find them immensely fascinating—at a distance. And yet my dreams are disturbing because these tornados chase me and while they never catch me, they come close enough.

This week I had my tornado dreams. Not unexpected as we have guests in town and my work and home life is quite hectic. Thing is, once I realized that I didn't have to "handle" everything, they stopped. It's been the first time in my life, I've been able to control or stop these nightmares and for me, that feels symbolic in some way, a huge accomplishment. So while this week really felt like two steps back, I'm okay with that and ready to start stepping forward.

Moral of the story is to enjoy this holiday season and not to let the tiny or big stresses get to you. They will be there through good times and bad, but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Keep these thoughts with you as write during this season and as we move into the New Year. It just may help get those creative juices going and those words flowing off the page.

Filed under: Toni Kelly, What inspires you?, Writer's Life