Hope for the Journey - Gloria Guest

Spurring one another on to good works. What a topic for someone like me to try to tackle.

I really felt like I had nothing to say and so was all set to say nothing. But last night my husband and I watched the movie, The Twelfth Man, a true story about a Norwegian man trying to escape the Nazi’s over frozen territory into Sweden, and one of the scenes really spoke to me.

Two men trudge slowly across the frozen landscape, limping from severely frostbitten feet. In all likelihood they won’t make it. Except it’s actually not two men; it is only one and the other is a figment of the lone, exhausted, delirious, almost frozen mans imagination. He is all alone save for his delusion; which becomes his saving grace as the imaginary man starts spurring him on, “You can do it!” he shouts through the blustering air, “One, two, three, Go!!” Almost comical in their simplicity considering the dire situation he was in, those were the words he most needed to hear to push himself forward.

I thought of how lucky he was to have his friend. What would he have done without him? Then I thought of the subject of spurring one another on in our writing. Although some may not like to admit it, it does seem that many of us with an artistic bent do suffer at least on occasion with some darker moods or just some general angst. It does seem to come with the territory. We may not develop that imaginary friend (or maybe you do!) but when we get quiet and alone it is often that buried, solitary voice we hear coming from a deep well in our soul, “You can do it!” it says, “One, two, three, Go!” And so it has been for me many times, that I need to spur myself on, as only I know exactly what I need to hear from within. Usually the words are more like, “It’s ok if you are just writing this one thing right now.” “That is enough for now.” Or, “You don’t need to compare yourself to others. Go at your own pace.” Or a more deeply personal voice of, “You can go there, to that place, you can tell your story. God’s grace will be there for you when you get there.”

I do believe in spurring others on too, even though I often feel as if I don’t, I realized that almost all of my posts on either my own blog or on the Inscribe Blog ultimately point others to hope. It is my hope that when you read my work you will feel inspired to draw a little deeper into your own well of emotions, thoughts and life story to share with others; that you will feel hope ignite in your heart where you too have been hurt or feel a need for healing; that you will sense the winds of hope spurring you onward through your own journey, that you wonder if you are going to make it through, “You can do it! One, two, three, Go!”




Gloria Guest writes from her home in Caron, Sk., and has published many newspaper articles as a past-reporter along with lifestyle columns. She has a few published short pieces and is planning to spur herself along with her blog at gloriaguest.wordpress.com