After draining my second cup of coffee this morning, I poured a bowl of Special K Vanilla, and sat down for some reading. The house was quiet, and I longed to take advantage of the quiet by writing. But I couldn't. So instead, I searched for a morsel of motivation or inspiration to get me going.
I rummaged through my bookmarked favorites and discovered some wonderful reading. Yet, nothing grabbed me by the collar and inspired me to write. Then I found an article, "Finding Silence" by Holly Lisle. Boy, did this one ever strike a nerve in me!
You see, I've secretly been blaming my lack of writing on not having enough quiet time. I even started telling myself that I'd just put off my dreams until my children are grown, then I'll have more time for me. But I knew even as I told myself this lie that if I really want something, I am going to have to create it in my own life. Nobody is going to hand it to me.
Says Lisle, "The silence I'm talking about, the silence we as writers must have to be productive, is silence inside ourselves. That silence travels anywhere. We carry it with us as if it were a private retreat in the mountains nestled next to a crystalline, ice-cold lake, surrounded by forests and pervaded by peace. And this silence is hard to find and hard to hold. It is as elusive as a rainbow, as easily shattered as sugar glass, as rare as a white stag, as skittish as a wild colt. A single worry about an unpaid bill or an appointment with a dentist or a remembered argument can destroy this silence for an hour or a day, and no amount of gritting teeth and frowning at monitor with fingers poised on keyboard will lure it back."
How true this is! Not just for writers, but for all of us. When there is no silence within ourselves, we grow restless, frustrated and feel as though we've somehow been abandoned.
For weeks I've prayed for direction and inspiration from God. I think that this week my prayers also focus on finding my inner silence.
Hope Wilbanks publishes Nurtured Soul, an online inspirational magazine for women. You can find more inspirational articles at Nurtured Soul: http://www.nurturedsoul.com/
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