Writing

I suppose that I am not unlike many men who find themselves in the midst of “reality” and “dream.” To one side lies the world of responsibility and to the other lies the longings that plague us when our minds are quiet. Having wrestled with such a theme, Don Miller’s post on living a better story reaffirmed this very personal truth. The post challenged people to contemplate their “story” and then dialog about how his Living a Better Story Seminar could assist in grafting what is and what may be.

Personally, the story I want to live has undergone some changes as of late. Having matured and without overlooking the wonderful blessings that I enjoy, there are certainly aspects of my life that I long to develop. Specifically, I want my writing to become more than fleeing moments of artistic expression. My hope would be to develop my delivery of the written word to such an extent that it would powerfully engage those who come in contact with it. There would be opportunity to further my ministry through this narrative and to do so while supporting my family. The story I want to live is one that artfully employs the talents and abilities that God has given me and to do so in the context of an organization or publication that could use them. Above all, I want the practical applications of my craft to aid in living out a script that upholds my commitment to Christ and to my family.

Conflict Anyone?

The conflict is this…. How do I attain my pursuits while maintaining the balance of a responsible life? As a Christian husband and father, the idea of focusing on myself presents a unique dilemma. Often my knee-jerk reaction is to shy away from lofty pursuits. While my aspirations may not be inherently bad, there is a delicate balance between chasing a dream and actually getting lost in it. Beyond that, there exist the obligations of serving my family by material and emotional means. I am constantly challenged by the proposition of whether or not “living a better story” will hurt or enhance my family….let alone my ability to put food on the table. I guess to some extent, these conflicts create fear; fear of failure, fear of losing my current comforts, even the ridiculous fear of losing the respect of those I care about.

Answers and More Answers

I realize that there are few flawless answers to these conflicts. While I may not have it all figured out, I have taken a few steps that have given me a glimpse of what I have before me. This blog for instance, is a way for me to develop my writing without turning my world upside down all at once. I have also begun to do a little freelance work in order to challenge me professionally. With regard to my current career, and despite it not being a normal function of the job, I have sought out opportunities to write. It is precisely for this reason that Don’s seminar is so intriguing. I would have the opportunity to collaborate with people whose experiences I could identify with. Apart from the inspiration, there would be time to develop practical solutions to some of the big hurdles. Besides, who couldn’t use a little therapy session with several hundred on-lookers?

I know this post may be a little off topic but hopefully those reading will provide me a little latitude!

For some time I have subscribed to Copyblogger, which is a popular online copywriting and content marketing publication. Besides the fact that it is a very useful tool for anyone maintaining a blog, they write often about the challenges of staying inspired to write.

Despite the reality that I don’t even scratch the surface of their 105,000+ subscribers or their 50,000+ Twitter followers, I am sure that a few of you have noticed my general “lameness” as of late. While my inconsistent posts can be attributed more to a sheer lack of time, I have been experiencing the drain of enthusiasm that Copyblogger warns of.

Now, I am not sure if my drive started to leave me when I was installing our new flooring or when the dust started to fly from a wall being knocked down, but it left nonetheless. Of course, it could have also been the fact that the thought of writing caused me physical pain after having spent a couple of weekends crawling around on my hands and knees.

Okay, I’ll stop whining like a little girl!

For those of you that could care less about my writing plight, the point here is that our own neglect is often the very cause of our dwindling inspiration. As was the case before the creation of this blog, the more time I spent without writing, the more my drive sank in to the proverbial “toilet.” Imagine that, you actually lose interest in things when you fail to spend time doing them! I would suggest that this is the case for most of the things in our lives; relationships included.

The challenge then, is how willing we are to include some things, all the while knowing that it will be at the exclusion of something else. As I have written about previously, the activities of our lives say a lot about what we find important. We may not necessarily like what we see at first, but what purpose do priorities serve if they don’t cause us to make some revisions now and then?

As for myself, I think it was after the third time of hitting my finger with a hammer that I became re-energized to get back to some of the things that carry real value for me. Sometimes there is nothing like a little blood to get your head straight!

How to Have a Great Life and a Great Business (copyblogger.com).

The Story I Want to Live

Back From the Blogging Grave

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