I was thumbing through my 2009 Journal the other night and came across a review Seriouswhimsey had written about me . I’d forgotten all about it.
Her words stirred something within me.
Here is a portion of what she said:
“I am an explorer. I love discovering new places in the blogging world. Once in a while I come across a treasure which absolutely compels me to share it:
Meet Heart to heart. The first time I read this Midwest Farmer’s writings, he had me laughing out loud, and wanting to send Christmas Cards to a pig.
Doug is also a general contractor- a manly man- who happens to have the eye of an artist, a tender heart, a riotous sense of humor, and an adorable wife who looks so young you’d never dreamed they’ve been married thirty years – unless they took their vows when she was, like six….
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OK, here’s the deal. It feels like there are two different people in my brain who write on this blog.
Sometimes, the words feel forced and wooden, and other times I feel relaxed and the words just flow.
(That doesn’t mean I don’t expect to edit after the fact, because I do…it’s just that sometimes even when I feel the stirring to write the end result is strained, while other times, the end result does a better job capturing the real me as when I’m relaxed.)
I am not alone.
Imagine my delight and surprise when I discovered Wordsmith John Muir wrested with the same thing… 🙂
As I continue to slowly make my way through the book John Muir His Life and Letters and Other Writings, I came across the following words last night:
“…in letters to friends, Muir complained that in town he is unable to compel the right mood for the production of readable articles….”As yet I have accomplished very nearly nothing,” he writes…. “how astoundingly empty and dry – box-like!- is our brain…
The fact is that Muir’s personal letters, like his conversation, flowed smoothly and easily; but when he sat down to write an article, his critical faculty was called into play, and his thoughts, to employ his own simile, “began to labor like a laden wagon in a bog.” … There was a consequent loss of that spontaneity which made him such a fascinating talker.”
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John Muir
Here’s to a new year of fascinating , engaging, and thoughtful writing! The last thing I want to do is clutter up your inbox with dry,wooden, boring words.
Life is too short.