Month: June 2011

#Trust30 Prompt: What would you say to the person you were five years ago? What will you say to the person you’ll be in five years?

To the Me of 2006 I would say, “Hey, you are close to the finish line: You are going to finish that dissertation within a year even though you may be the oldest guy at commencement! You can make it!” and to the Me of 2016 …if man is still alive, if woman can survive…I would say, “Don’t you dare forget how that turned out five years ago. Your Ebeneezer will perpetuate the memory of that nailbiting season. And send me a singin’ telegram from the future, Doc: ‘See there, nothing to worry about…nothin’ ta make ye feel afraid, nothin’ ta make ye doot, remember… and keep singing!'”

# Trust30 Prompt: Today, let’s take a step away from rational thought and dare to be bold. What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to accomplish but have been afraid to pursue? Write it down. Also write down the obstacles in your way of reaching your goal. Finally, write down a tangible plan to overcome each obstacle.

I have always wanted to write a murder mystery novel. I love the great British mystery writers of the whodunit genre because the adventure was in the chase. Seldom did Dame Agatha detail a grisly crime scene. Simple poison could do the trick, and then the sleuth would match his or her wits against the killer. I want to use my creative gifts to both delight my imagined audience and to honor, in a sly way, all those terribly interesting and eccentric people it has been my honor to meet. I can see each one of these real people contributing to the gene pool of my fictional characters, lending depth and more believability than the same crew could muster in real life.

I have cheated a little in response to this prompt. You see, I have already begun my mystery in bits and pieces. One piece was shared last week as my fifteen minute story that had to be told. As to obstacles, there are none except the biggest ogre of all–resistance. In this fallen world, resistance is the weed in the garden during these last days, of the noxious flora that threatens to choke out all other verdant life. My plan is simply to name the enemy, refuse to underestimate it, avoid poisonous playmates but call upon friends and loved ones who know me and are committed to my finishing the project well, and capturing every available moment of writing to fight resistance tooth-and-nail until it is defeated and I am finished. Then celebrate. Another trophy to lay at Jesus’ feet.

#Trust30 Prompt: Life wastes itself while we are preparing to live. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
If you had one week left to live, would you still be doing what you’re doing now? In what areas of your life are you preparing to live? Take them off your To Do list and add them to a To Stop list. Resolve to only do what makes you come alive. Bonus: How can your goals improve the present and not keep you in a perpetual “always something better” spiral?

If I had one week to live I would probably still do this writing challenge as my “last hurrah,” but mostly spend time laughing, singing, and storytelling with my dearest ones. Everything else would have to go and the bucket list would be burned and quickly forgotten. Since I do not actually know how much time I have left, I can improve my present by jettisoning every “improvement strategy” that separates me from, and does not cause me to grow in, my most important relationships. After all, was it not the great philosopher who said, “Without you there is no me.”?