Relax, Imagine, Believe

This quarantine and the state of the country is a tough situation.

1. We can't go anywhere, like meet up with critique groups, or take classes or go shopping.
2. Book events and conferences are cancelled.
3. Social media is a minefield that is tearing apart friendships, casting suspicions, and making a tense situation worse.
4. I think the stress of confinement and the uncertainty of everything are making people angry and act out.
5. My agent is dealing with personal issues so I'm subbing- and not getting very far.

I could make a list with 100 points to complain. It's looking grim. I'm usually an optimist but yes, 2020 is taxing my supply of silver linings. It's time to stop and regroup.

 I have to (and I do) try to live by the above. So I'm going to relax, and the best way is to wander through my garden. New flowers are blooming:

Now that I'm relaxed, the next part is to imagine. While it's easy enough to imagine getting a book deal, it's not as easy to imagine that this quarantine will be over soon, or that we will find the answers to social injustice, or that we can soothe the festering anger. As writers, imagining is what we do. What would the world be like if we imagined a more perfect world?

“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.”
― Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten: Uncommon Thoughts On Common Things

And because we can imagine, we can believe.

I can imagine these brown-eyed Susans in full bloom. They will be beautiful. I believe they will bloom (especially since I put up a wire fence to keep the deer from munching on the buds). A part of believing in our imagination is doing the work to make it a reality.  For stunning blooms, I had to put up the fence. For a book deal, I have to do the writing, revising, and submitting. For social justice, we have to look deep at what's wrong and make hard changes. For a kinder world, we must be kind. For anger, we must imagine ourselves at peace, and strive for it. 

"It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it." - Eleanor Roosevelt

So let's get started.

Char

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