On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.
On Fridays, I receive Hope Clark’s newsletter, Funds for Writers. Here’s a thought-provoking essay from a recent email:
Out there, in some land, at some time there is the perfect situation for writing. We may not have it where we are. We may wonder if it’s who we are, not being the right person at the right time.
On social media, I see people sending pictures of the perfect sunset on Edisto Beach, the cutest, most perfect antics of a pet, the greatest evening of a perfect dinner with a friend. Total sigh moments.
What we don’t see is that perfect sunset on Edisto Beach was the photographer’s fourth night at the beach, and served as their best picture from a hundred and ten others.
What we don’t see is the fifty attempts at getting that sometimes annoying, sometimes sweet pet doing the right trick at just the right time.
What we don’t see is the squabbles between friends and the make-up evening with this friend at dinner, and the dozen adjustments of food, lighting, and plate to set up the setting.
The odds of finding a perfect moment the first time are small indeed. What we don’t see are the modifications, disenchantments, and frustrations of arriving at that perfect moment. Without those, without enduring the innumerable setups, test-runs, and false starts, we don’t find the perfect moment.
Sometimes we just keep on keeping on in hopes the perfect moment runs into us. That’s more the situation than not.
Success is about putting yourself in the situations that aren’t perfect to find one that is. It’s why we write, and write, and submit, and weather rejections. One day may come the acceptance and all the perks that come with it, but without weathering the imperfect moments, without seeking the perfection, we never have a chance.
Joanne Guidoccio 