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Posts Tagged ‘writing’

I need, and want to continue the story of my recent journey to the writers’ retreat/workshop in Rowe, MA, and return journey, but I am in limbo on this one.     So many other things going on in my life right now, including…

I have been working on my personal transition which includes reading works which inspire and encourage me along the way.  As I read there are AHA moments which I write notes about so I can refer to them later.   One of the blessings from my trip and the workshop has created another positive shift in my transition.

This weekend I bought myself  three small gardenia plants to put in my front yard along the front of the porch.  They produce small, lovely white flowers and a light gardenia scent.  One single gardenia bloom reminds me of a time back in the 1970’s when I had a surgery.  When I woke I was already in my hospital room.  My bed faced the door, and as I woke, standing there in the doorway was my surgeon with a single gardenia in a small paper cup.  It was so beautiful, and the thoughtfulness of that doctor is a beautiful memory.

My Gardenia by Ann Marquette

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My “Time Away for Personal Retreat”…

I was away from May 30th to June 6th to attend The Sun Magazine Writers’ Retreat (workshop) in Rowe, MA.  It was a great experience and I will write more about it over the next few days.

I worked Thursday and Friday in addition to doing some catch up on my to-do list. Yesterday I spent some time alone at my outdoor office/reading room (Starbucks next to Barnes & Noble).  I got back into the book “When the Heart Waits” by Sue Monk Kidd.  It was a nice break.

On the way back to the house I sensed a shift in my internal transitions and maybe a quieter me.  My mind went into a clear reality that yes I have a few friends here, but the huge hole for me…I have never felt at home in this place.  I do like and care for my friends here.  They are good people.  And the people I work with at my part-time job are wonderful.

Still, I wonder what’s next as I walk this path.

I notice God’s hand in my life in the changes taking place within me, and in various areas of my life.  I am calmer as I take each step along the path, and excited anticipating His next surprise for me. I am grateful for all His many blessings.

I look forward to recalling and sharing my nine day adventure with you.

Rowe Farmhouse by Ann Marquette

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I will be off all social media for a couple of weeks.  Spending personal time for inspiration, dreaming, writing, and some photography.
Wishing you all two great weeks filled with many blessings…JOY, PEACE, LOTS OF LOVE, AND MAYBE A LITTLE MAGICAL SURPRISE mixed in :-)

The Gates taken in Ireland 1982 by Ann Marquette

 

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White Tulips by ann marquette

This morning started strange as I woke early from a stressful dream.  Thankfully I went back to finish my night in a restful sleep.

As I was enjoying my morning coffee, the A Ha moment arrived.  I realized a major shift, or turn on my path of transition, and the path God has been guiding me toward.  More like a message that God was telling me I had made a couple good turns in the right direction.  It is with much gratitude for His guidance that I am making the transitions.

I have known for a long time that God wants me to write, and there is a special place he wants me to be.  I realized a few months ago that there is a part of me needing change before some of that journey can come to pass.

Some of the healing has happened recently.  Forgiveness is a huge need in our lives, and doing so will open doors for us we would not have imagined.  Forgiving also heals us.  In addition to forgiving others, we need to forgive ourselves for any wrongs we have done to others.  I’ve asked God to tell me if there is anyone I forgot to forgive.  Not hearing anything in that direction, I asked to be shown any wrongs I have done to others, even if they were unintentional.  He showed me three.  I did apologize, and in the process I grew and changed some more.  I have been working most of my life to be a better person, to be the person God wants me to be.

I have been out of a paying job for almost two years.  Whenever I would get His message to keep writing, I would smile and say “sounds great, but it doesn’t pay me!”  Figuring I needed to find another source of income to supplement another source, I attended many networking meetings, did job searches and applied for jobs.  I had interviews and almost joyfully accepted not being offered the jobs.  Truthfully, I did not want to get back into the typical corporate world as I’d been in for many years.

Some friends, those not in my position, would “suggest” that I should go out and get any job, no matter what.  Other unemployed would hear the same thing.  And the constant question “Well, how is the job hunt going?”

Like the majority of unemployed since our economy crashed, we realized this time was a gift.  While sharing good news and blessings in our networking sessions, we would tell of opportunities to help family and/or friends in need.  Had we been working we would not have been available.  We also shared our journey to find that which would not just provide an income, but work that would bring us joy by doing something we love, something we feel good about which would be of value to others, to our world.  It was time to also evaluate the kind of culture, working environment we would enjoy, where we would thrive and blossom.

One time I mentioned my dream work environment to someone who is in a rather high-powered job and very “professional” environment and she told me that there is no such place like I described.  Actually there are places like that which I know of and heard about.

The staffing agency which has gotten me work before called a couple of weeks ago telling me of a part-time job they thought I might like.  I said yes when they asked if they could submit my resume.  Shortly after  I was invited to interview with the company.  A couple of hours after my interview the agency called to say the company wanted me.  I started last Monday and it is the kind of environment I have been wanting.  It is a small office, but with some staff who work from other locations.  They are a great group of people who really care about each other.  The culture is more casual and easy going; and it is only one mile from where I live.

Although the job is for some administrative help, they were excited and chose me because I am a writer and have proofreading skills.   So, the best part is a chance I may be able to turn the job into doing that which would engage me more in my writing life.

Thank you God for your blessings.

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White Flower
White Flower (Photo credit: @Doug88888)

Life is not always perfect, but  I find moments of joy in being kind to me. Time to refresh myself in order to give to others.

Taking time to just sit and be quietly happy within, to work on my writing, listen to beautiful music or read is wonderful.  Sometimes I treat myself to some flowers for the house.

I also remember how grateful I am for so many blessings. The most precious blessings are the people in my life, even those who come through for only a short while.

It is a beautiful new year, with each day to be grateful and joyful.

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Remembering a dear friend I am reposting this, which I wrote for my friend Terri who passed away in 2006…

I didn’t know you well
I didn’t know you long
But, you became a friend
And, you inspired me

Your kindness and caring
Even through your pain
Your strength, courage, and faith
Amazed and inspired me

Your sweet nagging
To keep writing
To finish the next book
Made my heart smile
You inspired me

I miss you Sweet Lady
Yet you are always
A part of me
In my heart
A beautiful memory
My Inspiration Angel

© December 11, 2006

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I love this gift God has blessed me with later in my life.  It all began while living in Ireland.  I don’t remember which of these came first, and not sure it matters.

One day I started writing the story of my life!  Of course, I don’t think I was going to write it for anyone else to read it.  Anyway, after struggling with it and feeling the pain of some of the memories I decided not to go on.  I wasn’t sure of the point of it anyway.  Hummmmm!  Why would anyone want to read it.

I read the book “The Neverending Story” by Michael Ende  and it is my favorite story to this day.  The book is so much better than the movies.  I read it five times within a couple of months and each time noticed something new.  In addition to the amazing details I love the many underlying positive messages.

I read the information about Michael Ende.  He wrote it for children, but it became so popular with all ages that it was published in many languages and reprinted several times.  I thought “what an amazing legacy to leave behind.”  I began to think about my life and not only did I have no children, but had not done anything of value with my life.

One morning, after my then husband left for work, a story began filling up my brain to overflowing.  I had to sit down with pen and paper, and wrote all day.  I couldn’t stop.  My imagination took me to other places, different ways the story could be told other than as a published book.  At that time I don’t think I actually imagined it would ever be published.  Another great gift was the day, several years later, when I held my published book in my hands.

 

Little One book cover (property of Ann Marquette)

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Little One book cover

This was an earlier suggested topic and decided it was time to write about it.
Have you ever considered writing a book? If so what would it be about? Make a list of the ideas you want to cover, or the themes it might have. If you’ve never considered writing a book, what other major work have you thought about (a movie? a symphony?). Write a paragraph or two about what you imagine it would be like.

When I lived in Ireland some years ago I thought about writing my memoirs. I started working on it, but it became too painful.

I found a fabulous book…an amazing story and very creative character and scene descriptions. I read it 5 times within three months, which I have never done with any book, before or after. Each time I read “The Neverending Story” by Michael Ende, I noticed something new; usually another underlying positive moral message. Ende had written the book initially as a children’s story. However, it became so popular among adults as well the children that it has been published many times in many different languages. I thought “what an amazing legacy to leave behind.”
Yet, I never thought about myself writing such a story.

One morning, probably a year or so after I had read that book, I woke with a vision of a story gliding through streets of my mind. With a clean, new pad of paper and a pen I sat down and began writing, and writing, and writing….all day.
It was an amazing experience and the first of its kind in my life.

At one point in the writing of the story, another part of my brain was imagining other ways the story could be told besides a published book. I really didn’t think I would ever have a book published!

After that day I would frequently find myself writing more bits and pieces of the story.

Eventually I returned to live in the U.S. and had to spend much time finding a place to live and a new job. In my spare time I would take walks along a river and inspiration would take hold of my mind and fill it with more ideas for the story.
I found a place to rent for a while and a job. Along the path of this new life I made time to write in order to finish the story.

I began to let a few people read a small portion of it, which is a short story by itself. The responses blew me away, and they wanted to read all of it. Then people began to tell me it was wrong of me to not get it published, that it should be shared with the world.

In 2003 “Little One ~ End of Journey Alone” by Ann Marquette was published. That experience was an amazing ride. Holding the book with my story printed in it and my picture on the back was surreal. A huge benefit was finally finding my voice. The best gift of all has been the responses from the readers.

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Writing

Image via Wikipedia

I try to be faithful to my PostADay challenge and tonight I was going to say “This will be very short tonight because I am a couple of days behind reading the blogs I subscribe to, and want to get through them tonight.” The other issue was because I wasn’t inspired about anything in particular. Also, I did not want to a little lazy and just post another photo, or one of my previously written poems.

But then inspiration came walking in, so here I am.

While being out of work and searching for something new, one of the things I do is attend networking meetings as I did this morning. Today’s speaker told about her life and how she came to really KNOW herself. One of the ways she confirmed the person she is within was taking the Strength Finders 2.0 survey and reading the book which explains each of the 34 personality themes and the actions to take to be better at our true selves. She did a great job and definitely encouraged us to get the book and do the survey. At the end she said she needed a volunteer and asked who would help. I raised my hand and was the only one willing to volunteer, for what I did not know. It turned out that just by being willing to help I was given a copy of the book Strength Finders 2.0 by Tom Rath. There was nothing to help with. She just wanted to reward the willingness to volunteer. What a great idea. Getting the book was a great surprise gift.

Also during this time of transition in my life, I am learning more about myself, making personal transitions within, and working on my writing.

So, I will read the book and do the survey to confirm what I already believe to be true about myself; and enjoy learning what I may find I didn’t know.

OK, I am off to catch up on reading some of your blogs.

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Wherever I happen to find myself sitting with paper and pen, my imagination bursting with the words eager to be put on that paper, is the non-exercise activity I wish would keep me physically fit.

However, it is a great workout for the brain cells. As I walk through the maze that is my brain, searching for the right words, to create the perfect sentences in order to describe the scenes, the people, and circumstances which makeup the story I am working on…surely that exercise gives the brain a good workout.

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