Now begins a time of openness ~ a time to let myself wander a wee bit aimlessly, build my confidence in the kitchen, travel, write, and see what comes up. Now that I don’t have a book deadline to fixate on, there is more room to notice those little bits of my day that stand out and rise above the others, the ones I continue to think about long after they’ve whisked past me. In keeping my senses open to all of these little treasures, I am also able to recognize the interconnectedness of all of them ~ how cooking dinner for my husband is related to training Tilda. How indulging in a little post-book deadline shopping spree ~ which I wrote about over at Rock Red Shoes ~ is related to my work as a writer, and my next book in particular.

After spending almost an hour with me, helping me find a few new goodies I’m mad about, the saleswoman asked what I did. I explained I was an artist and a writer, and that I had just submitted the final manuscript for my latest book the day before. She asked what the book was about, and I gave her what is fast becoming my “elevator pitch”:

It is about different aspects of creating a meaningful life, and how when you do that for yourself it is the best thing you can do for the world.

This woman was young, and gorgeous, and working in a hip LA boutique, and when she heard my description her shoulders dropped down a bit, she paused, looked at me, and said, “I need to read that book right now.” This all happened in an instant ~ in an imperceptible flash of time that no one else around us noticed in the midst of shopping bags unfolding, tissue paper crinkling, and plastic hangers being stacked together. Beyond the row of sparkling jewelry that sat in front of the cash register, in front of a display of fat, overpriced candles all lined up like little colorful soldiers, I felt this woman’s deep longing for that unexplainable something we humans always seem to be in search of. We didn’t talk much more about it, but I continued to think about the way her face softened in that moment.

There is so much available to us ~ in bookstores, churches, e-courses, websites, lectures, workshops, and documentary films ~ offering doorways, pathways, highways, and bi-ways towards fulfillment. So much as to be incomprehensible. But still, the idea of something that might be able to offer a tiny shred of inspiration or guidance fills people with a unique kind of wonder and longing. I got a similar reaction last night during dinner with friends ~ as soon as they heard the description of my book it was, “We will be buying four copies ~ one for us and for every member of our family,” said with an ever so slightly more serious tone than what was said before and after. These are tiny moments, with subtle changes in posture and voice, and I am recording all of them ~ little clues as to how I might be able to share what I’ve created in the gentlest, most open-hearted way possible, reminders that the work I’m doing is needed. Little nuggets of inspiration I will collect and carry with me until the time comes to lay them all out like tarot cards and see what they have to say when I am holding the book in my hands.

“Creativity in your work comes from your mind. The idea of work being creative is that the mind can connect with the sharpness or the inspiration within any situation. There is always something acute and precise happening in a situation, which can lead you to other possibilities. It is seeing that every step contains possibilities of furthering whatever your process is.” ~Chogyam Trungpa