Be a Fountain by Sandi Somers

 

I live in one of Calgary’s newer communities that have constructed wetlands--stormwater ponds that collect and hold excess rainwater and snow melt--waters polluted with garbage, pet waste, lawn chemicals, winter salt, and gravel. Live organisms help purify the water and the fountain aerates the water, providing oxygen. These ponds protect the community from flooding when excess water is drained into the larger city systems. 

Often during the spring and summer months, I walk over to the wetlands in my neighbourhood. Along the pathways, my attention focuses on different birds in the trees and reeds along the water, and waterbirds as they dip and dive with their young. 

I especially enjoy the fountain, its beauty the centrepiece of aesthetics and inspiration.  I often sit at the bench or stop on the bridge to listen to the whoosh of its gentle spray. Or I collect my thoughts and write notes or first drafts of articles that the waterfall and bird life inspire. 

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Many authors have inspired me with their wisdom. Like the fountain, these quotes have enhanced my own creativity. As you read them, let them refresh and aerate your spirits.   

“Be faithful to your calling…this requires no grand leap off a cliff—just do the next thing.” Luci Shaw 

“Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depth of your heart; confess to yourself you would have to die if you were forbidden to write.” Rainer Maria Rilke 

“(T)he first essential is just to write. Do not wait for an idea. Start writing something and the ideas will come. You have to turn the faucet on before the water starts to flow.”  Louis L'Amour 

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” William Wordsworth 

On First drafts: “Seventy percent of a first draft is garbage and 30 percent is gold, but you have to write 100 percent to get that 30.” Laurell K. Hamilton 

“The most important sentence in any article is the first one. If it doesn’t induce the reader to proceed to the second sentence, your article is dead. And if the second sentence doesn’t induce him to continue to the third sentence, it’s equally dead.” William Zinsser 

First person: "The more honestly you put yourself into the story, the more the story will concern others as well.” Rainer Werner Fassbinder 

Face your fears. “Nothing in life is to be feared—it is only to be understood.” Madame Curie. Do it scared, because, “The anointing you received from Him remains in you” (1 John 2:27).          

 Make failure your friend. “Fear of failure is the saddest reason on earth not to do what you were meant to do.” J.K. Rowling. 

“Follow Me.” Jesus (Matthew 4:19). 

“Feed my sheep.” Jesus (John 21:17). 

“Be filled with the Spirit”, Paul wrote in Ephesians (5:18). As we make Jesus the centrepiece of our lives, He promises that we will become like a fountain. Out of our lives will flow rivers of living water (John 7:38). As we’re filled with the Spirit, He will infuse us with unlimited life-giving power and refreshment that will flow through us to our readers and beyond.