“If wisdom comes with age, then I don’t have wrinkles, they’re just wisecracks.”
Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul.
Words are lyrical.
Listen to the sound of the word, wrinkle. The appearance of wrinkles may be irritating but at least the word has a cool sound.
I like how Ardis Mayo draws the best out of wrinkles by calling them, “maps of wisdom.” And Jennifer Chesak, a Nashville-based writing instructor, imagines wrinkles as fine lines that “represent life's worth-it moments like grins that have stretched across our faces.”
Mark Twain wrote, “Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.”
Are you starting
to feel better about wrinkles? I hope so. You and I are collecting them as we age. Perhaps you can see those smile lines in a new way as "wisecracks". Ha!
I can’t help but think of Madeline L’Engle when I think of wrinkles.
However, the book was hugely successful, winning literary awards, and was turned into a movie, a TV series, an opera, and even a theatre production.
L’Engle set out to show that the fight against evil requires more than great knowledge and intelligence. Intelligence without morality can easily slip into an authoritarian and brutal reality. Rather, that fight requires embracing those things that pure mental intelligence can’t grasp—love, courage, self-sacrifice, and humility.
The world needs writers like you, who furrow your brow as you ponder how your words can make the difference you know is so needed.
Salt your writing with love, having the courage to write the truth, and the self-sacrifice of vulnerability. Add in the humility of humour and you'll keep those wisecracks coming.
Bob furrows his brow as he writes at REVwords.com
Enjoyed your post today, Bob. Love this quote you shared: "Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul." Which reminds me of another sage's advice I heard years ago: "Fall down seven times, get up eight."
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I've read "A Wrinkle in Time" and its sequels. Loved the stories, love her writing.
Thanks for the encouragement to keep furrowing my brow as I ponder how my words can make a positive difference in our world. Appreciate your presence here on this blog. :)
Thank you, Brenda! Writers like Madeliene pushed the envelope and believed in their writing. Her soul was without wrinkles, like yours.
DeleteI love these words: "Salt your writing with love, having the courage to write the truth, and the self-sacrifice of vulnerability."
ReplyDeleteMy kids and I enjoyed reading A Wrinkle in Time.
Thank you, dear Bob, for making me smile again. Laugh lines are the best. (Puns are great too...)
Wonderful post!
Blessings.
One more month, Wendy. I hope you'll keep leaning in and offering encouragement. That will keep my brow less furrowed and my laugh lines deepening.
DeleteExcellent post, Bob.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tracy.
DeleteYes I’ve read A Wrinkle in Time and the sequels. My motto is: We all have to grow older but we don’t have to grow up! So we can still write for kids.
ReplyDeleteBest thought on not growing up! I hear you.
DeleteHi Bob! Thank you for your wise words about wisecracks. If we can bring hope to our readers, our furrowed brows are worth the energy.
ReplyDeleteYou are good at wisdom, Alan. Always appreciate your posts and comments.
DeleteThank you, Bob, great post. I too love the quotation Wendy referenced. So many wonderful things about wrinkles!
ReplyDeleteThey happen to all of us and they can be wonderful.
DeleteBob I love the idea of wrinkles as maps of wisdom. I hope that's what mine are. :)
ReplyDeleteThat would be my opinion, Joy.
DeleteThanks for encouraging us as we age to call our wrinkles maps of wisdom and smile lines, Bob. And I too love "A Wrinkle in Time". I reread it last year and completely enjoyed it. Isn't it amazing that after 26 rejections, the book won the Newbery Award for the best children's book of the year!
ReplyDeleteYou mention the courage required by writers to write truth with love and vulnerability. Writing is not for wimps!
ReplyDelete