Once upon a time, I dreamed great dreams. Wide-eyed, optimistic, and sure-footed, I stepped into a world filled with possibilities. Help arrived at my side, to caution me about the perils of real life. They warned me survival was difficult. Constructive criticism delivered with sharp tongues flayed my skin. They held me down, held me back, stopped me in my tracks.

Fear whispered in my ear and fed on my last ounce of courage. Numb, my spirit sank into the nightmare. I struggled to find my way and bought lies from the snake-oil salesman. I worked harder, but it all fell apart They laughed, saying it didn’t matter how hard I tried.

Crushed and broken I thought I would die. A child’s hand touched mine. She woke me and promised to save me from the nothing I had become.  She showed me the answers I had held all along.

“Life goes where you place your focus,” she said, “Keep your eyes on your dream.”

My attempts to fly failed because I forgot to aim high. To leave the darkness, I only needed to reach for the stars. I listen to my drummer beating a cadence to drown the naysayers. The strength, the passion, the persistence, they live in my dreams.

Do you remember your dreams?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

As writers, we craft our character’s stories. We consider and construct their current situation, their identity, their wants, and desires. We determine who they want to be and plot their story arc.  We help the protagonist overcome their struggles and move them to their story’s conclusion.

Every day we make decisions that frame and influence our future. We allow things to unfold, reacting to circumstances and forces seemingly beyond our control. If we can control fictional characters what is stopping us from deliberately constructing our own lives? We can write our own stories. The trick is to be self-aware. Consider your vision. We all want to be better, but we need to define what better means for us.

While we don’t know what obstacles we might face, we can plot a course.

What steps are you taking to build a better life?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

As I child I stared at the moon, marveling at the various shapes which illuminated the night sky. The full round globe and the shiny sliver of a crescent, the shape-shifting planet held my attention. I could not fathom how the sphere projected it’s varying forms. Then something extraordinary happened. A teacher created a demonstration using a basketball, a tennis ball, and a flashlight.  Mind blown, my relationship with that celestial body changed forever.

It led me to question everything in my life. Which of my perceptions were wrong? Which were keeping secrets?  How had I been so blind? The crisis hit me hard, and I had to do, something. I decided I would work on developing my observation skills and I examined my world. I read books, essays, and journals, then I asked questions and questioned the answers.

Even now, I still question conclusions others declare as facts and read voraciously across countless subjects. I expose myself to alternate hypotheses and compare them to my assumptions. I stare at the moon, marveling at the vastness of our universe.

What has stretched your mind?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer