“If you can’t be a trapeze artist then you might as well try writing. Your failures will be less spectacular and you won’t break your neck trying it.” Margie Orford, a South African writer.
I raced boats as a kid. Too many close calls made me more careful as I grew up.
In my last quarter, writing is a place I find both excitement and peace. To enhance someone else’s day is a wonderful way to spend a few hours. The Lord enriches my days through my head, my heart and these keys.
“The cloud never comes in that quarter of the horizon from which we watch for it.” Elizabeth Gaskell, a 19th-century English author
Troubles frequently surprise us. Lots of things we worry about never happen.
That’s the journey. I realized 37 years ago I needed God’s love to traverse the maze. It is a priceless gift.
Some thoughts on healing…
“Things don’t go away just because you choose to forget them.” Teju Cole, a Nigerian-American writer
So what helps to heal our souls despite the scars? It would seem a multifactorial process. One thing seems reasonably certain to me. We need all the help we can get.
What we are seeking in essence is inner peace. To me these changes are wrought by the grace of God. I think we all need time in prayer. I try to pray daily. I think methodical stretching, lifting (or resisting), and aerobics put us in a better place spiritually, physically and emotionally. Time in the Word of God settles me and enriches my own journey.
May you each find that peaceful place in your soul that despite the scars is a healing balm on your journey. May God bless you with a deep, lasting, inner peace.
Interesting perspective…
“Will the reader turn the page?” Catherine Drinker Bowen, 20th-century American author.
That’s what you think about when you edit your work. Engagement.
Seems true for screenplays, stage plays, novels, memoirs, short stories and commercials. Are they “page turners”? The writers want eyes and minds locked in, transported.
The thrill is to give them exactly what they want. Which is why in my books I have several readers and an editor to provide their perspective.
Are you still there?
It was 1960, May or June. I had to do a reading at our graduating class’s confirmation service in our synagogue in Miami, FL. It was my first shot at public speaking at fifteen. As I read my knees were banging together. I was glad they were hidden behind the lecturn. My mouth was so dry I wasn’t sure I could finnish the reading but I did.
In the fall of 1960 I entered high school where one could participate in debate locally and statewide. Much more comfortable with arguing than giving speeches, I really fit in. One certainly has learned to argue by the heart of adolescence.
So with the debating behind me I found that speeches got a little easier over my 41 years in the workforce.
Of all things I got most at ease late in my life now teaching Sunday school for several years. Life had come surprisingly full circle, another of life’s mysteries.
Jerry Seinfeld in one story on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (Netflix) described how life’s twists and turns can be mysterious. He asked the question seeing the wanted poster in the post office, why didn’t they nab that guy when they took the picture?
“Life really does begin at forty. Up until then, you are just doing research.” Carl Jung, erudite, renowned psychiatrist.
I think that is the essence of the mid-life crisis. You are not fond of the research at forty.
I had one. No sports cars. No other woman. No dressing like a twenty-year-old.
I realized I had chased my tail running on a treadmill. My marriage and career were painfully stressed, but I was developing a better grasp of what I needed in life. They were and are God’s love, my wife’s love, and meaningful work.
What at forty seemed the worst thing in my life, looking back at 77, is the best thing that ever happened. Hallelujah.
Worth a third look since I hung up two big sevens on my aging journey…
I am thankful at 75 I got up this morning. I am thankful that Jesus Christ has saved my soul. I am thankful that my wife has stood by me for 42 years, 11 months and 5 days.
I am thankful my adult children are loving, wed and well employed. I am thankful my grandsons are healthy. Those little guys are loads, and heaps, and oodles of fun. I am thankful for the gift of laughter we share.
I am most thankful for the gift of love. When I was 32 I remember a Thanksgiving by myself with a t.v. dinner. Now I am surrounded by friends and loved ones. What once was one is now a family of eight. I love them all with all my heart. God bless ye one and all.
H. Robert Rubin, memoirist and author of Look Backward Angel, How Did I Get Through This? and Please Save the Third Dance for Me, two of which have been Amazon best sellers. All three are available on Amazon
A great lyricist/composer
Thanks YouTube. Click the YouTube lower left, small, black arrow by “Watch on…”
This is the best melody and verse on heartbreak in the contemporary songbook, to me, with Hallelujah a close second.
“Great lovers have made great sacrifices.” Louis Auchincloss, a 20th-century American novelist. Sacrifices?
Last Friday, in a post-last pro match of his life interview, Roger Federer was being celebrated. When he responded about his family, he expressed appreciation that his wife Mirka allowed him to play tennis.
Imagine a spouse traveling with two boys and two girls in her charge, all over the world, for years, and accepting his time away to improve his world-renowned tennis game. No small task, even with fine accommodations and help.
I think in most marriages that last for decades, there is much heartache. But, on balance, great love, and sacrifice. Without the hand of God, our 45-year marriage may have lasted as long as my first, 12 months.
Pilgrim on a Long, Long Journey 