"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky." ~ Rabindranath Tagore
What is it about sunsets? We never grow tired of them. The beauty, the uniqueness, and the wonder of it all as we contemplate our very small selves on a very big planet in a very, very big universe.
I've been thinking that maybe we need to think about our work the way we think about sunsets. Each project different from the last, and each one delighting us in new and different ways. As we sit down to work each day, instead of grumbling, as we sometimes do, about all of the things that are wrong and all of the work we need to do, we should rejoice in our work. We can be awestruck about our ability to create a story from nothing. NOTHING! Isn't that amazing, when you sit back and think of it that way? Where no story existed before, because of you, one exists now. Wow!
The more we write, the more we can lose that sense of wonder. I don't want to lose that sense of wonder. I don't want to write without an excitement about what I'm doing - about what I'm bringing to the world. Yes, some stories are more work. Some stories are harder than others, and in that difficulty, we do struggle sometimes. That's how it goes. It's not always easy. But even as we struggle, I think we can take a moment now and then to stand back and admire what we are creating. Some days, it will be hard to see the beauty in what we are doing. That's when it's the most difficult, isn't it? So... stand back and find the beauty. Remind yourself what it is you love about the project you're working on.
This week, as you write, think of your work as a sunset. Find the beauty in it. Be in AWE of it. If you're having trouble, read this post by Stephanie Perkins about making love lists.
Love your work. Be blown away by it! Because it is amazing... isn't it?
