April, 2025
Sometimes an inkling of a thought comes across the mind and begs to be put down into words. The ideas hang in the air just out of reach until they are transformed onto the page. That is the magic of writing. Sometimes those words look simply amazing, and the temptation for the writer is to save them for a later time when everything in life has somehow aligned for that someday … something. But what if that someday never comes? What a waste of a good idea that would be. Annie Dillard says in The Writing Life that we should spend those words as soon as we can. Her advice: “Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.”
I understand what she means. It is not just in writing where this applies but everywhere else in life too. We all have things that we want to do, but sometimes it seems that an invisible force is clutching at the mind and telling the heart that it is not the right time. It could be money troubles or a heavy work schedule that is wearing on us. Maybe it is anxiety about change or worries about health issues. We think that as soon as the particular challenge passes, it will be the right time, but there will always be something holding us back as we move through the different phases of our life.
That first stroke of pen or brush on paper can feel daunting. It feels much like putting that first shovel in the ground to mark a new garden bed. Where do we even begin? Maybe the sunlight won’t be enough or maybe it will be too much for the tender new plants. Maybe my words will sound corny or maybe they will be misunderstood. Will I be wasting my money or my time? And so, the doubts take over the creative part of the brain and they linger there. The words stay as dormant as that unplanted plot of ground. The season passes and the challenge is deferred for another year.
Maybe we are fearful of taking that first intimidating baby step. Maybe we are waiting for that perfect set of shoes before we begin. The important thing is to take that first step and embrace the possibility of today rather than waiting for that special day that may never materialize. All of this reminds me of my granddaughter climbing up the playground slide. It was the tallest slide in the park. It was the one we thought she would tackle when she got much older, but there she was unsteady of foot climbing up the challenging rungs. She looked perfectly magnificent in her pink puffy dress. She wants to wear it every day, even to the playground. After so many sandy landings, the dress began to look rumpled and a little frayed. I began to have my doubts about my letting her wear her favorite, but wisdom spoke true. She is three. She will outgrow the dress before the blink of an eye; or worse, she might outgrow her love for wearing dresses, puffy or not.
Raising three daughters has taught me this about dresses and so much more. Life is fleeting as are its pleasures. So, don’t wait to wear that dress. Write the pages of uncertainty, plant the new garden and dream. Step out unfearfully into life with your new and yet unbroken shoes; or better yet, step out in bare foot, brave and ready for the unexpected.
photo credit: Zan Lazarevic on Unsplash
