Tuesday, September 27, 2005

I have to Try, but I do not have to Succeed

Negativity breeds negativity. This explains why I haven't posted in a month's time. I have been at a creative low, and although I don't ever mind airing my dirty laundry, it didn't feel right to expound on my doubts, lack of motivation and loss of confidence. So I haven't blogged.

In lieu of my usual heart-to-heart, I'm going to list some motivational quotes. At least for today, I sought to solve my current lack of heart by seeking encouraging words from one of my many books on writing. Today's quotes, including the title of this piece, come from the book Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle (M. E.). I'm only up to page 81 today, but for your own encouragement, here are a few thoughts to ponder:

"...when the words mean even more than the writer knew they meant, then the writer has been listening." -- M. E.

"All of writing is a huge lake. There are great rivers that feed the lake, like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. And there are mere trickles, like Jean Rhys. All that matters is feeding the lake. I don't matter. The lake matters. You must keep feeding the lake."
--Jean Rhys in the Paris Review

"I've long since stopped feeling guilty about taking BEing time; it's something we all need for our spiritual health, and often we don't take enough of it." -- M. E.

"Listen to the silence." --M. E.

"When I am constantly running, there is no time for being." --M. E.

"We lose our ability to see angels as we grow older, and that is a tragic loss. " --M. E.

Someone once wrote "The principal part of faith is patience."

"It is the ability to choose that makes us human." --M. E.

"It's your duty to go on working steadily day by day, quite quietly, to be prepared for mistakes, which are inevitable, and for failures." --Chekov from his letters

Enjoy this day, one you'll not have back again tomorrow, special in its own way. -- Toni Evans to her fellow bloggers:-)

Blessings,
Toni