And I feel that I must now fight off every kind of interruption and intrusion into my inner space, my mind, my imagination, my thoughts, my very being. ~ Deborah Chester, in her blog post: Pressing Forward

I’ve read this blog post from Deborah Chester many times. It helps me to see myself and my choices, and gives me the encouragement to get up and press forward. When those of us who must write as much as we must breathe come to accept that fact, as well as the truth that our writing is a blessing we give the world, we are more willing to choose to turn from distractions and do the writing.

I say all that now that I’ve first bathed the new puppy (and she is sleeping nearby so I am happy) and read emails and just had to peruse the Disney princess banks for my granddaughter’s Christmas. Then I took myself in hand, am ignoring all the chatter going on below, in order to write and pay attention to my own inner space, mind, imagination, thoughts, my very being. When I put it like that, I feel rather heroic.

I think, too, that there is often good we come to when we go down that path of distraction. Sometimes distraction is the wonderful path to discovery. Each day we have the opportunity to sift and sort this out. It’s called a writer living life. It’s a writer’s job.

From Miracle On I-40:

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Cooper said, “You know, there’s a lot of kids wonderin’ why they have just about no gifts under their scrawny tree, and mom and dad in the kitchen drinking’ themselves into a stupor in celebration, while stores all over–owned and run by really good people–are all caught up in making’ their entire profit for the year.”

“You can focus on all of that,” she said. “It’s all true, but you can also look at the other side. People go so crazy with spending and decorating and giving gifts–with all the hype–because they need to do it. Christmas is the only time that such behavior is acceptable. Christmas at its heart is a time when everyone, even the most hardened criminal, can express the love that’s in their hearts without feeling embarrassed or threatened.”

Maybe when we can see the situation in a new, fresh light, we can make distractions work for us, not against us. It’s Christmastime. Blessed distractions all over the place!