The Storyteller's Ears

July 27, 2007 - It was my last day of work in Virginia before I would start my three week road trip to my new home in Colorado. The world was a spinning vortex of rainbows and butterflies, including a few in my stomach for a Jersey Boy who became the lost love of my life. But no technicolor landscapes or sparkling stars in my eyes could tell me otherwise; Colorado was my land of opportunity, and I was ready. But what made me ready, you may ask?
Late night six packs and soul-bearing talks with touch-and-go friends. Third party phone calls which ended with "have a nice life". Study breaks with Starbucks, but all I was learning was how to listen and rationalize through someone else's drama. Never once would I manifest my observations into fiction so they could have a life of their own, and finally vacate my cluttered psyche.
After years of being the ears of a Storyteller, I have finally found my voice.
January 23, 2008 - My footsteps led me away from my Contemplative Psychology Bachelors degree and squarely onto the self-financed first semester at Colorado Film School. This will be the day my voice will call its "Independence Day", though, ironically, I said little to nothing at all.
It is the power of the Storyteller's ears that make possible the talented tales he utters.
I listened to my guides, and they brought me here. I listened to my instincts and my wisdom, and they led me here. I even listened to my muses, my beloveds, and even my shame, and they all could not keep me from here. Because without taking the time to listen, and listen I did, my writing has no soul. And while I cannot say that my soul does not still ache, and sometimes even falter, I attest that I will endeavor to remember to listen before I speak, to observe before I act, and research before I write.

I'd like to ask you, my dear reader - what's your story? The one you've been harboring in your soul, collecting data on, but have not yet had your voice freed to tell the tale.

May all our stories find eager ears.

Reigning It In

"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint."
— Mark Twain 

 

Who knew Mark Twain gave health advice as well? Though, I suppose, when you are a self-confessed philosopher, then no domain of the human mind is beyond analysis.

It's been difficult to decide what to write about today, but it is important I write. Then the flurry of thoughts rush in and vie for my vote. Memories or rants, ponderations or analyses, years of thoughts that have been stored away and waiting for the magic combination of elements to let them coagulate. 

And then I remembered, this is my own creation. While it is my sincere hope that these posts may someday be more than the sum of its parts, currently it is simply my little slice of happy. Just as Hugh MacLeod alluded in his book Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity (http://amzn.com/159184259X) to the artist who creates because their inner child wants to play with crayons, not just to find another modus operandi that could potentially render a profit- I, too, wish to play. 

So, here's today's post; delightfully short, and just in time for bed. But don't forget, my friends, to trust yourselves. I'll endeavor to follow my own advice.

May you live as long as you want and never want as long as you live,

Betty D.

Happy Chinese New Year!

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
— Mark Twain

Yet, as celebratory as this occasion should be, I am disinclined to set this sail. Hibernation, just short of permutation, seems a more apt way to enjoy this celestial transition. It is, however, likely that I am so withdrawn from the masses due to the current New Moon phase.

Or is it?

My thinking is that it is actually the proverbial wall one hits when faced with small but impactful choices. These life-changing "baby steps" shape who you are, whether you necessarily actively choose them or not. Not choosing is a choice, too.

For quite a while, I've been thinking of writing a book. I've been told many a time that I should write self-help books, but that won't be any time soon (i.e. not until I've learned that my advice can be followed by my biggest critic, me). This does beg the question, however- what book would I write? The truth is, I couldn't tell you.

Sometimes I wish to convey my professional advice as a Massage Therapist, or simply my analysis of a film I've seen. Other times I crave to articulate the winning strategy I believe all drivers should use to better improve the frequency of traffic jams. But mostly, I wish to declutter the overactive, and most certainly over-analytical, inner-workings of my mind.

Thus, I create this blog for all those moments when I felt like I had something to give the world, but never followed through with it; for the thoughts that I've recycled and refined over and over again in my mind, but can only breathe a life of their own in a tangible form; for all the times I've criticized someone else's efforts and then realized I had justified doing so because I was not attempting something significant of my own; for the dreamer in me that wants to explore and discover, and wishes to see this life fulfilled.

And because the other celestial transition that seems to be consuming my life is a little something called "Saturn Returns". Between the slow pace of this year's Metal Rabbit and the revelations that have been surfacing, and will assuredly continue to surface, due to "Saturn Returns", it will be advantageous to keep record.

Here's to evidence!
Betty D.