your bone
are you sniffing your way into its secrets?
“Tell the story of how we became Typist’s muses?” Thalia twirled a curl around her index finger. “Pretteeeee, pretttteeee pleeeeeeease?”
Wanting to work play with other projects, Urania gave the short version. “Reader Stuart sent us to her — from England. He tells the story as the introduction to OUR book.”
Nią reviewed the day’s planner square while Calliope offered her version of the story. “Almost seven… holy moly!… seven?… years ago, Typist started writing short daily stories from her life. Some were good, but needed polish. Others were… ummm… let’s call them placeholders. Yes, placeholders that kept her battery charged so that she could have another go tomorrow… Like a dog with a bone, she gnawed and chewed ideas, words, and sentences… hoping to string them into a story that could move a reader.” The Muse of Harmony paused for a breath. “Her efforts were strong. And seeing that she was serious and hard working, we were sent along to help.”
Words from Typist:
I found this old muse-story from January 2017.
Our writing has improved a bit since then.
Fun to see!
My morning reading explorations yielded a list of ideas for our consideration:
Don’t weigh yourself down with responsibilities that are not your own.
Do not be colonized by other’s dread.
Give voice to your own astonishment.
Know your own bone.
What you learn, you become.
Powerful heart is stronger than powerful will.
Ignore the hat (label) to continue the work.
Hoping the ideas spark something inside of you, too.
Tell us in comments…
What excites you so much you’d devote yourself to it for nothing more than personal satisfaction?
First of all, Gail, I love your 2017 story, love the vulnerability! You have over 100 claps and I gave you some more.
Second: I used to be excited about gardening, but between the ravenous deer and my aching knees (yes, even after 2 replacement surgeries!), I've had to pretty much give up that passion. (TBH- Most days I don't miss it, which surprises the heck out of me.) Writing doesn't exactly excite me either, another surprise since I devote so much time to it. But bringing my book to fruition--break out the firehoses because I am on fire with excitement. 😅
How delightful is today’s post! In part, a stroll down memory lane. (I went back and re-read Stuart James’ Muse handoff! I’d forgotten that entirely.) 100 Naked (partially clothed) Words is where I bumped into you during my Medium days. Partially clothed words? I call to mind your discussions of discovering one’s true self and living authentic lives and writing authentically. The comparison with past writing on 100NW really demonstrated how you’ve evolved during this interlude. Don’t ever stop!
You asked reader to comment, “What excites me so much I’d devote myself to it for just the personal satisfaction?” Earlier I replied to Karen D. on that subject. I suggested that as we age, and sometimes with creaky limbs and backs, we are faced with finding new interests, new hobbies. I’m the “Wooden Leg Guy” out of Eric Bernes’ book, Games People Play. “I’d love to train for the Boston Marathon, but I have a wooden leg.” Allowing myself to not make a different effort?
To my thinking, it’s first necessary to accurately assess one’s current capabilities, let go of strivings from the long ago possibilities, and roll up my sleeves to do what?? I thought of lexicography and sorting and sifting new words for inclusion in the dictionary. I like word origins and their archaic versions, but as actual work?! I suggested to Karen that resembles watching paint dry!
So getting “excited” is a sticking point for me, one who was raised under the rubric of “all work and no play” as the path to success! And now at my age, 73, excitement could have negative health consequences. 🤔🙃 To be serious, I presently don’t have a “fill in the blank” proposition. At least it seems I have a brain teaser!
The 7 points you offered for consideration are all good ones. Perhaps they can serve as a meditation of sorts to climb out of this proverbial hole. It is said, “You can start your day (week, month, season) over at any time.” Why not now!