October 21, 2017

What do you do for a LIVING? ... by Jocelyn Faire



     I have been doing a lot of living in the last few years, perhaps I am collecting material for my next writing project, or perhaps I am refuelling my soul after a long depletion. There are seasons of life and seasons of writing life.

     When I express thoughts, my desire is to bring hope and light into dark places and because of that I need to be filled with my own hope and light in order to spill out encouragement. When I pondered this month's topic I recognized that what I need for writing is my own source of inspiration. Inspiration is defined online as "the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative; the quality of being inspired; a sudden brilliant creative or timely idea; the divine influence believed to have led to the writing of the Bible." While not competing with the writers of scripture, I realize that some of the people I share with will never open a bible and I want my words to draw them into a quest for truth.

     When I first retired as a nurse, my mother would usually ask me, "So what are you doing now?" I would tell her about this or that, and say I am also writing. She would then ask, "Are you getting paid for any of this?" To me the message was, if you are not being paid, it had no value. In my mother's defence, her work supported the family in my growing up years, so she wondered how I could make ends meet without a paying job. I have stopped apologizing in my life for taking the time to sit by rivers, or in the presence of nature's beauty. Time spent in prayer and processing life is time well spent, it is also necessary for writing. Now I reformat the question "What do you do for a living?" into what do I do to make life alive. There is no doubt in my mind that our writing improves with passion for living. Simply existing is not enough. I'm after the abundant life that Jesus spoke of in John 10.
  
But, how do I move from existence to abundance?



♪♪ … when the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad. ♪♪ from The Sound of Music
Here are some of my favourite inspiration and writing resources:

Beauty, especially in nature.

Artistically prepared foods.

A park bench along the river.

A good cup of coffee. (Goes well with park bench)

Good walking shoes, as one should walk a lot. I concur with 

Frederick Nietzsche who said All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.

A place to observe people.

Eyes wide open.

Second hand stores. I used to volunteer in one, and experienced some of the most interesting moments.

A good bicycle.

Kayak or canoe to be on the water.

A camera to create artistic shots for posting.

A positive attitude.

Warm clothing for cooler days.

A good cup of tea, good books, good poetry.

Travel-especially cultural travel broadens the outlook.

Because of where my daughter lives and works, I have visited some interesting countries, and met many wonderful women of varied faith backgrounds. 

Google for searching quotes and sources.



Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music—the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.   Henry Miller 

Jocelyn is the author of Who is Talking out of My Head- Grief as an Out of Body Experience.  She is on a quest for Beauty in Life. 


7 comments:

  1. Such practical options! Love it

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  2. What a beautiful post! Thank you, Jocelyn. "I need to be filled with my own hope and light in order to spill out encouragement" was my favourite line. And so true for me as well.

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  3. An ordained minister from Northern Ireland, I also appreciate good writing. However, the ability to see my Creator in a sunset and to hear His voice in the gentle breeze, enables me in my older years to anticipate with much joy my final home in heaven, where I truly belong. James

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  4. Thanks, Jocelyn, for this inspiring post. Although I find your whole blog insightful, my heart and mind resonate particularly with, "Time spent in prayer and processing life is time well spent, (and) it is also necessary for writing." With aspects of life that challenge, it is important to ask, "What (can) I do to make life alive?"

    During St. Paul's four years of imprisonment, he wrote four powerful and enduring epistles: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. In these letters, he writes of joy, patience, abundance and contentment . . . His body may have been imprisoned, but his spirit could not be contained within those walls. Thanks for writing for us with exuberance, Jocelyn.

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  5. I love your question, "What do I do to make life alive?" You're right that simply existing is not enough. I also want the "abundant life" that Jesus spoke of. As a cancer survivor, I've developed a profound "passion for living." Both my life and my writing have improved as a result. Nature, walking, and travelling are all high on the list of things that make my life seem more alive!

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  6. Speaking of inspiration, this post in itself was inspiring. Thank you.

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  7. Thank you, Jocelyn, for the wonderful reminder of all the wonderful blessings of God each and every moment

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