I love a fresh start, even if it does not signal a beginning.
Something new can come at any time, at any age.
We define how often we refresh by widening our path or finding a new direction.
For some, staring at a blank page or charting a different course seems daunting. New horizons posed a threat to me before I claimed my creativity.
The unknown can present possibilities or bog us down. It all depends upon the thoughts we allow to seep in. The inauthenticity of trying to fit my distinctively shaped persona into acceptable molds made life hard and unsatisfying. My best efforts were enough to achieve but left me feeling tasked as if living someone else’s life.
The truth is that writing is the only thing I can remember joyfully doing with origin. Poems on birthday cards and essay contests, made-up stories, and heartfelt sentiments were all shared before adolescence. I took them for granted and realized decades in that words came from my soul and were connected to a unique body and mind. You might say, “That’s true for everyone.” And you’d be correct, but tapping into yourself to find the inimitable voice requires fearless exploration.
Nearly five years ago, I became my boss. It was a necessary move nudged by the crossroads that invariably pointed to a new job. It occurred to me that I had been giving my best away to employers. Having made (lots of) money for large corporations and working overtime for others, I thought, “What’s the worst that could happen if I used these talents for myself?” We were a two-income household at the time, and the invisible safety net provided extra footage if I fell. I don’t use the word “fail” because there is always something valuable to be gained by a new pursuit.
Some are born with the ability to know their mind and mission. Others like me have struggled to find peace in their purpose. There is no finite answer to creativity, and indeed not one job we are meant to do. What a gift to know this. Lines blur, minds bend, fear melts, and eyes see what opportunity can unfold in leaving things blank.
Welcome to my blog. I may have been writing for decades, but this is my first web log post for The Next Write, the website that has hosted my online freelance writing business. As the name would imply, its raison d’être is to find the next write, and I have managed to do that with some continuity.
These past years of turning the boat around and being my own captain have become invaluable (if you don’t count money). I have taken on clients and researched a variety of niches, contributed stories, and used my experience to move others forward. Flying by the seat of one’s pants teaches other soft skills that become part of the hard-won collective. I have earned more dollars with jobs past, but nothing has made me prouder or brought more reward than these more recent endeavors.
Having ventured professionally, I’m here to share some of the past and more of the present as a curious human who has traveled, parented, and is more eager than ever to try new things. The zeitgeist motivates anyone of a certain age to consider how we exist and react to global conversations about employment, retirement, health, and wealth. My response is to keep going and begin a “CanDid" blog. Everything in this world that I love involves the essence. It’s the human truths that engage. The story behind the story where authors dare to go and the connectedness we feel because they went there. In photography, a candid shot lets us in and hides nothing.
With so much emphasis on appearances, the natural world often seems wrapped in sterile packaging or tied up with commercial bows that, once beautiful, have become bland. When the characters are contrived, good writing revolts with its honest reveal. And, when manipulation is embedded in our frame of experience, sharing freely is a gift. This is a space to be uncensored, and I welcome comments of the same vintage. With a blog that follows passions of many kinds and hopefully inspires others with humility and humor, I aim to tell what I “can” and “did” with candid detail.