SHEsaysWITHaSMILE.blogspot.com: i L.O.V.E. writing! (me!) sandra, topps, writeousmom

Monday, December 23, 2024

i L.O.V.E. writing! (me!) sandra, topps, writeousmom

it rather goes without saying, doesnt it. just having a blog for 20 years..

but i want to dedicate this post, to everyone who has a gift, a passion, a love.. a talent, an energy for;

but that gift/passion/love/talent/energy does not become your livelihood. -so recently, rob carroll, spoke on this topic at park victoria church, milpitas

-sharing how he draws, he is inspired to draw every! day! and how he thought he would become a famous artist.. or, rather, make his livelihood as an artist by now.

i could so quickly, deeply, understand and relate to the message he shared. and, will start by sharing just how blessed those people are! the ones who can earn a living doing what they love..

but this post is for the rest of us: those who have something they love to do -which is a huge gift, all by itself! but it does not evolve into, or translate into 'making a living'

i will point out first, and remind.. if you look at what it takes for a small city to function in a healthy, vibrant way.. if you itemized every job that needs to get done in order to... there is no way you can live in a healthy, thriving, -house, or city, where every person is doing something they love to do

a wonderful life involves a great deal of unfun, grunt work; period. so, the expectation that everyone should 'love' their job.. doesnt scale out

[if the only thing about your job that you love, is the paycheck.. then love your paycheck and keep doing your job. -if the only thing is the people, and not the paycheck... etc. -find something to love about what you do... that's my point].

i will also point out, how many times, over the decades, someone has had a love, a gift, a talent.. something that yielded great joy in their lives.. and then it did become a 'business', a livelihood.. and much of the joy was sucked out, for the sake of running a successful, profitable business

the number one thing i've witnessed: creating an original; great joy of process... followed by, mass production, cloning, copying, -which yields financial blessings -exclusively. but, if it is the creative process you enjoy..

i.e., i painted a pretty picture, that i turned into a greeting card. -the creating of [coming up with an idea, the actual painting, the color, the texture, the artistic, creative, stylistic decisions along the way.. using/choosing the paper, the type/color/blend of paint, the type of paintbrush.. all of it, a wonderful experience. -but, the... now let's copy, duplicate, print, package, store, distribute, sell... where you are no longer creating -just copying.. tedious & boring

anyway,

i've witnessed the two primary directions people go, who have a gift, a joy! but that gift/joy do not become their livelihood

1. they stop doing what they love, with some internal feeling of 'being a failure at..'

2. they keep doing what they love, in their leisure time..

and, i am quite convinced, by personal experience AND observation of others over several decades: to keep doing what you love in your leisure is the wiser decision -for you, for your family, your loved ones, your friends.. and to glorify God's name

-my years on the planet, living, observing, have also introduced me to people who -they literally, don't have a passion.. a thing they love to do

they'd give anything just to have something they love to do...

/personally, i believe God gifts every single person with a thing they love to do, but you are responsible to discover what it is by putting yourself out there, and experimenting..

****

i have, from the womb, i believe, loved writing! i just love it! when all i had was pen and paper; pen and paper is what i used.. -fast forward to the blogosphere..

and, here is my favorite, the most wonderful, the thing i am the most enormously grateful for, when it comes to digital writing, vs. pen and paper

-search-! feature

if all i had were my pads of paper... and i've filled in, and later burned more than i've kept: but, it would be such a daunting process to go through, page by page.. word by word... sentence by sentence.. in order to find,

i.e., i want to pull up my 3rd grade report card, write now..

if it were exclusively in a cabinet; paper files only.. that could take a chunk of time..

but "thank you so very much for my extermal memory, digital online blog storage with search feature.."

i can just type 3rd grade in the search bar, and...

awesome!

so, because i love to write.. always have, always will.. i did pursue it as a livelihood. i pursued it as my livelihood for decades! i went to college pursuing it.. i spent enormous amounts of time, developing my craft.. -perfecting it! studying successful authors.. schooling myself.. practicing/improving.. i wrote for fun, i wrote for my college newspaper and magazine; i wrote for our local newspaper.. i read, read, read.. i met countless authors i loved.. i networked.. i reached out to too many agents to ever count..

my lack of turning my love, writing, into a livelihood.. it has zero to do with lack of effort; or lack of talent/craft.

i don't remember exactly when i stopped all together, even pursuing..

-NINE YEARS of reading and responding to leonard's blog '21st century, 84 charing cross road!

got me nowhere..

my own blog.. got me nowhere..

i was all along personally, internally, CONVINCED, my autobiography, my memoir, belonged on the book store shelves write next to Dr Maya Angelou, Elizabeth Gilbert, Jeannette Walls, Anne Lamott...

/and have thoroughly read; seen speak, and have autographed/personally inscribed books by each author i just mentioned..

do you know, as i write this, december, 2024.. i cannot remember the last time i read a book; fell in love with the author; went to see them speak.. goal: picture and personally inscribed book for my collection

it was such a large part of my life for 2 or 3 decades; -today. not at all really.

what has remained: my joy! my love of writing! i've never stopped for 2 reasons

1. this blog; the blogosphere exists for me to write on/in..

2. i love it

remember what i wrote a hundred years ago; it's true:

we come to earth with instructions:

what we love to do, instructs us on what we are here to do; and

what suffering we endure; instructs us on who we are here to help.

****

if you have not yet discovered what you love to do.. it is a most worthy pursuit!

if you have discovered what you love to do.. and sometimes it is more than one thing!

-keep doing it!

JOY! is God's gift to you... you say "thank you!" by discovering.. and actually 'enjoying'

JOHN 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full..

/doesn't mention anything about, profiting from/making a living at...

close with,

encouragement: keep doing what you love! -for the exclusive reason, that you've been gifted to love it! it will enrich the quality of your life! when you are happy, enriched.. this is a boost to your immune system, it gives energy.. it naturally results in a positive energy and disposition that is contagious...

in spiritual warfare.. it is the obvious answer: God wants you to experience JOY. -the enemy wants to steal your joy and have you feel like a failure..

JOHN 10:10

and, essence captured in that sweet sunday school song..

"this little light of mine.... don't let satan blow it out, no! i'm gonna let it shine!"

Glorify God's name..! hallelujah! selah! amen!