Caridad Pineiro® Romance Author
NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Romance Author
I think you know by now that I love summer. I love the heat of the sun on my skin and the susurrus of the ocean waves that lull me into a beachside nap. I love the smells. Suntan lotion. Food frying at a nearby festival on the boardwalk. The tang of sea salt and dampness of a misty fog. The sharp scent of tomato leaves and the sweetness of basil. I live for the summer and inside I keep a little bit of summer with me every day. Have a great hump day!
It’s hard to think about taking that first step into the unknown. Whether it’s a new relationship, a new book, or even revisiting something old that you’ve been trying to forget, it takes courage. But taking that first step is a necessary part of a journey that could be truly rewarding. So as hard as it is, take that first step.
My mom was an amazing lady. She had courage and wisdom that inspired me throughout my entire life. She told me that anything was possible if I worked at it hard enough. She also told me that nothing worthwhile is ever easy. She was right about both. Whether it’s a relationship or being a writer or trying to lose weight, it’s not easy, but if I want it and since it’s worthwhile, I need to not give up!
Yesterday I chatted about my weight gain and one of the things that I’ve been doing is being more mindful of what I eat and why. When my mom got cancer, I ate to bury the pain and the stress. That packed on a lot of pounds. I lost them. And then something else happened (or didn’t) and I gained them back. There was a lot of not paying attention to what I was doing or paying too much attention to every little calorie to the point where it became frustrating.
Being more mindful, more in the now and aware of the present, is something I’ve been trying to apply to my eating. Why am I eating? Is it because I am hungry? What am I doing when I’m eating? Watching TV?
I’ve been trying to be more mindful of the food, its taste and scent. Eating it more slowly and enjoying every bite. Making meals count instead of just gobbling them down.
That mindfulness applies to other things as well. Not running around so much and taking time to stop and smell the roses. Living more each day by being grateful for all that I have. Little things like that.
Just some thoughts for you on this Wisdom Wednesday.
Now that I’ve got your attention . . . LOL!
I sometimes hear that a writer is waiting for inspiration or for the muse to hit to get started on a story. It makes me wonder what will happen if the muse is missing or that inspiration never materializes. It makes me wonder about what I write since I’m not the kind to sit and wait (for anything actually) and I just plopped my butt in the chair one day and decided to write.
Of course that was after a 5th Grade class assignment revealed to me that the stories in my head could become like one of the stories I loved to read. After writing my first book in the 5th grade, working on stories through high school, college and law school, it took a long time for me to say, “I’m finally going to do this.”
I haven’t looked back from that moment. I sat and I wrote. Every day. I didn’t sit and wait for inspiration and a muse because I’m the kind of person who believes that you make your own luck. That you control your destiny and that if you want something, you need to go for it full tilt like Don Quixote at the windmill.
Is it easy? Not always, in fact, most times not. There’s work and family and friends and a thousand other things that can pull you away from that story you want to write. You’ve got to want to write that story really bad and you’ve got to let the people in your life know that you want to write that story really bad. If they love you, they’ll understand and be supportive. They’ll celebrate with you when you say you’ve finished the story of your heart. They’ll hold you when you get that first rejection letter. They’ll be at your side when you get that box of books that says you’ve been published.
But that will only happen if you sit down and write, the muse be damned.
I’ll leave you now with a quote from a woman who was a friend, mentor, and most importantly, my mom: Nothing worthwhile is every easy.