In a Cloud

I’m over half way through editing my book, and I stumble upon this http://ed.ted.com/series/the-writer-s-workshop . Why??? I know, a little dramatic in my response, but as I watch each video, I am compelled to start the editing process over. I want to make sure my verbs interject the liveliness of the characters that I envisioned when I first began to write of their exploits. I want to make sure my commas are in the right place to demystify my intent.  TED strikes again by both inspiring me to strive for excellence or at least my personal best and drain my time one 10-minute talk or lesson at a time. But, if I look at this uncovered treasure as a necessary step toward honing the masterpiece I desired to create, then the time taken away from actual editing to watch these very witty, informative vids would be more of an investment than a “time suck.”  Either way, I must change my deadline to June 11^th. That is the absolute drop dead date for my edits to be complete.  We shall see how well that works out. I see some late night ahead!

In other news, since completing my 21-Day mediation experience with Oprah and Deepak, I have truly been in tune with my inner self. I have devoted myself to living in the moment and realized that I am changing. The jury is still out whether this change is beneficial or detrimental (I wanted to say “good or bad,” but because of this compelling argument http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-case-against-good-and-bad , I decided to choose otherwise).  I am tuned into the rhythms of the universe and find myself in position to be of value to others in very meaningful ways. I am amazed at the fine-tuned forces that are at work in my life at this very moment propelling me forward and God’s way of using my openness of heart to give me the direction I need to obtain the promise. Here’s a very vague example:  This past weekend when I should have been locked away writing in a room like the late great Maya Angelou used to do, I was at the mall with my family. I was having a delightful time getting my son outfitted for summer camps.  My mom wanted me to dash over to the perfume department to pick up her favorite fragrance, but I told her that we were not in a hurry and we should all go sniff around.  So we did. The men went to look at men’s shoes while the ladies sniffed out fresh fragrances for the summer.  In a moment of pure serendipity or contrived coincidence, a friend of my mother’s approached us….this story will be continued one day, but just let me say that I was in place at that specific time for reasons that I will let God and the universe orchestrate.

I snapped this photograph with my IPhone. This absolutely beautiful cloud appeared after a very damaging storm.  The fact that this cloud appeared so low and reflected light with such brilliant colors was the reason why I had a visceral response to it. I will try to paint this scene one day using watercolors, and I'll be sure to post the finished product.

Lastly, with the passing of Maya Angelou many of her interviews and quotes are readily available broadcasting pearls of wisdom. It is quite sad that one must pass on from this life into eternity, for all of us to truly appreciate the content and quality of that life in the earth.  The plethora of YouTube videos, articles, and Oprah’s tribute on OWN have me greatly inspired to walk in her footsteps as well as tread some new ones.  I pray that many generations to come, will recognize the gem that she was as well as identify and celebrate the gems we have among us now.

A deadline, A dream released, A dynamic young talent...

Soundtrack: Miguel Radio on Pandora.com

The past few weeks have been anything but dull. Let me start with the most important matter: my book. I have been editing ferociously (that is an exaggeration, but let's go with it).  I'm on chapter 12 out of approximately 29 total chapters. The editing process is definitely not as exciting as the writing part.  While I'm writing, my characters drive the story and I'm just a conduit they use to tell their stories and live their lives.  During the editing process, I find myself enjoying what I've written, as well as tweaking (not twerking) as I go along. Sometimes I change things that conflict with an upcoming event and I have to go back and unchange the change I just made.  It is very annoying! I'm annoying myself! For example, I wanted to add more depth to a scene just today.  I wanted one of my main characters to plop down on a bench and throw a towel over his head.  Well, I couldn't do that and let the other guys in the room recognize him. I had to retract my edit, but I still like the symbolism of his emotional state: the towel represents a cloud looming over head constricting his Sahasrara chakra. My character is caught in a position of not being in tune with himself due to external forces. So now I'm constricted because the more I'd like to move on and continue my edits, the more I need to rework the scene in order to interject this very poignant and foreshadowing imagery.  I'm still working on it. Oh, and I've set a deadline for completing ALL edits for May 30th. The added pressure gives me the jolt of stress I need to dedicate myself to getting this done. I learned from a TED talk that stress is good!

On to the next topic: dating. Ugh! Let's just say that Miss Tree has been meeting new giraffes, but in the process of each new acquaintance who always have a bomb to drop i.e. some level of dramatic baggage that changes the game, Miss Tree has changed her priorities. While she was in a hurry to link up with a giraffe initially, she has now refocused her pursuits opening up a fresh timeline for her to follow.  She no longer worries about her seasons or...ahem...her germination clock. She just wants to live a breezy life hopefully with one God-sent giraffe, but if not, she'll be all right! She may just relocate and hang out with palm trees in Florida. Who knows?

Lastly, I've found that I'm laughing more these days. I had a wonderful conversation with my pal who just earned her doctorate in psychology. I read her psych books in undergrad to assess just how crazy I was. Good times!  Anyway, I had an epiphany while I was talking to her on the phone. I made some drastic changes in the way I lived my life in the fall of 2008, and those changes or shifts served a very important purpose. However, the epiphany was that I thought the shift I made in 2008 would serve another purpose in my life and I was dead wrong. Aha! That is what Deepak Chopra means when he instructs during guided mediation to "breath out what no longer serves."  Analogy:  It's like trying to use lotion to moisturize your skin and as a condiment on your sandwich. That's not going to work! So, I went back to the drawing board with how I was going to re-equilibrate my life. I'm still in the R&D phase, but I believe I'm headed in the right direction for this new phase in my life.  Only time will tell. Back to my joyous laughter I've been experiencing. I've found quite a bit of comic fodder on YouTube recently and I know my levels of endorphins and whatever other hormones form due to laughter have increased. One in particular is Alonzo Lerone.  When I tell you that he is exactly what I needed to see and hear the past couple of weeks, "I am not even kidding!" He does parodies, dumbest tweets, skits, and reviews. I laugh. I just laughed thinking about how I laugh at his YouTube videos and social commentary.  So if you need a pick-me-up during the day or just a break from the ordinary, http://www.alonzolerone.com/ .


Writers, if you have any editing tips, please comment below. Your help would be appreciated.
Please feel free to leave comments. I'll be sure to respond :)

Monthly "ponderable" thought:

What do you do when you don’t want encouragement, and you just want a change?