Values Make the Writer
This week marks the first days back to school. And as a teacher, I will be absent. I made a clarifying decision to leave the world of teaching and to enter into the world renewed, as a writer. One of the hardest decisions I have made in some years, it is also proving to be one of the most breathtaking and rejuvenating. I am a writer, always have been. In high school, I tried to take an advanced writing course. It seemed the perfect way to learn better skills for something I loved, to dig deep into reading and writing in ways previously unavailable to me, to grow intellectually in a field I desperately wanted more from. I was denied entrance to this class. I was devastated. The teacher told me I had to be a better writer in order to take part in this class. Perplexed, I asked myself how I was supposed to get better if I could not be pushed, advanced. This moment stayed with me.
I took writing classes in college - loved every single one of them, never considering for a moment that this was a path I could or should walk down. As I grew older, I realized how much power, passion, connection I got from writing. I wrote in my spare time-steadily, as an athlete and traveler-minimally, as a teacher. Despite the neverending ticker tape of ideas running in my thoughts, I often found reasons and excuses not to write-putting off something that felt equal parts challenging and invigorating.
Recently I found reason to reconsider my power and poise as a writer. I made time to reflect on the driving forces in my life. Writing was and continues to be at the top of this list. Whether poetry or prose, writing is a most impassioned element of my world. I decided no longer to ignore that passion. It was time to realize an off-put dream and make it reality. “I will be a writer,” I told myself. “I am a writer.” My response to my own declaration set me on a path that has dynamically changed the cosmos within and around me. I am lighter. I am eager to do more. I take deep breaths that hold meaning. My values gleam and bask in my own sunshine.
A value, a judgement of importance, is to be honored as a principal of leadership in life. I strive to keep my values present and at the forefront of my daily actions. They lead me towards my truth. They are the response to my truth.
I write everyday. An important and seemingly small step, but no less substantial. I have never cared much for goal setting, finding it tedious, an annoyance. And. I have goals as a writer. This in itself is a profound shift, one done without force or even nudging. This is a telling sign. I hold intentionally set goals, written with purpose and near enthusiasm. I am ready. I found my space and I have stepped in. I am full in joy. And completely open to newness.
As I pursue life as a writer, I know that I will falter. I will make mistakes, immense ones and bite-sized ones. I will fail. I will ache from the desire to be better, to do better. And. I will continue. I will persevere. I will write. I will write. I will write.
On January 1st, I dubbed this year ‘The Year of the Heart’. I vow to move through this year with my heart leading the way. The heart is in charge; I will follow its lead. I look forward to the journey.
I took writing classes in college - loved every single one of them, never considering for a moment that this was a path I could or should walk down. As I grew older, I realized how much power, passion, connection I got from writing. I wrote in my spare time-steadily, as an athlete and traveler-minimally, as a teacher. Despite the neverending ticker tape of ideas running in my thoughts, I often found reasons and excuses not to write-putting off something that felt equal parts challenging and invigorating.
Recently I found reason to reconsider my power and poise as a writer. I made time to reflect on the driving forces in my life. Writing was and continues to be at the top of this list. Whether poetry or prose, writing is a most impassioned element of my world. I decided no longer to ignore that passion. It was time to realize an off-put dream and make it reality. “I will be a writer,” I told myself. “I am a writer.” My response to my own declaration set me on a path that has dynamically changed the cosmos within and around me. I am lighter. I am eager to do more. I take deep breaths that hold meaning. My values gleam and bask in my own sunshine.
joy
creativity
intellectual growth
quality relationships
A value, a judgement of importance, is to be honored as a principal of leadership in life. I strive to keep my values present and at the forefront of my daily actions. They lead me towards my truth. They are the response to my truth.
I write everyday. An important and seemingly small step, but no less substantial. I have never cared much for goal setting, finding it tedious, an annoyance. And. I have goals as a writer. This in itself is a profound shift, one done without force or even nudging. This is a telling sign. I hold intentionally set goals, written with purpose and near enthusiasm. I am ready. I found my space and I have stepped in. I am full in joy. And completely open to newness.
As I pursue life as a writer, I know that I will falter. I will make mistakes, immense ones and bite-sized ones. I will fail. I will ache from the desire to be better, to do better. And. I will continue. I will persevere. I will write. I will write. I will write.
On January 1st, I dubbed this year ‘The Year of the Heart’. I vow to move through this year with my heart leading the way. The heart is in charge; I will follow its lead. I look forward to the journey.
:)
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