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| Thanks to Alex J Cavanaugh for hosting the IWSG! |
Elijah tells her to go home, bring him a drink and make him bread with what is left. If she obeys, her flour and oil will never run out. She does as she's told, and indeed, her flour and oil are forever replenished. A happy ending.
Now, there are so many ways I'd like to run with this story; my internal commentary is running amok with thoughts. But I'll try to stick to the point (and I do have one).
Sometimes I feel like that widow lady, only my jars aren't running low with oil and flour--they are running low on words and ideas. And yet, another blog entry is due, another story needs to be told, a post must be written and an article looms with its yawning deadline. I panic. I've run out of ideas. I can't put the words together. I'm depleted.
And then there is that moment as I'm writing, ideas like yeast giving my words form, I'm amazed. Somehow the article is completed (some better than others). The deadline ceases to be a mocking beast. I find enough words to finally form a couple of sentences that miraculously (like the widow's flour and oil) emerge into a baked and completed post. It's a miracle!
Like the widow, I'm not foolish enough to believe I alone am responsible for another idea or am the source of words that somehow manage to be typed. I'm just a vessel, like the jars. It's why even when my own insecurity threatens to convince me I will die of creative starvation, I can be confident there will be just enough for one more page.
Keep writing,
Julie
Yep, that source is all one ever needs :)
ReplyDeleteI count on that, T.
DeleteVery nice, Julie. Can I borrow a cup of oil?
ReplyDeleteThis is actually one of many favorites of mine. Doing what has been directed you to do, walking in blind faith.
With faith like that (the size of a mustard seed), one can move mountains.
Indeed Mike-- I depend on that.
DeleteDoes olive oil work? I's good for you at least. :D
ReplyDeleteit is healthy.
DeleteWonderful post and imagery. Love the thought of ideas rising like yeast :) I know I am not in this journey alone.
ReplyDeleteIt is a journey, indeed. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteYes, the creative well can run low but it always fills back up again if you let it rest...sort of like letting the dough rise. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, and that's what I was getting at. Somehow, just when I think the ideas have run dry, something always pours back in.
DeleteGreat metaphor, I often feel the same way. Just when I think there's nothing left, something more always appears. Keep truckin' girl!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. The story, for me, was exactly that, a philosophical springboard, not so much a Bible lesson-- yeah it's about believing that there is a source beyond my mere mind for the ideas, and that lends itself to a greater purpose. I appreciate you stopping by. :)
DeleteI love that story!
ReplyDeleteAs for running low on ideas and words. Yes, I know. Sometimes, everything I write seems so far off I track I delete the entire page. It's so disheartening! But you, they always come back to me. and it's usually when I don't expect it. Just 3 days ago, I was in the bathroom getting ready for the day and wa-la, just like that, the beginning scene of a new WIP just popped into my head. I ran out of the bathroom, not even dressed, to write it down. I wrote an entire scene in just minutes:)
Like the widow, the jar is never really empty. sometimes we just have to have enough faith to tip the jar open and see what falls out on the page:)
Beautiful article, beautiful words. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Talynn-- and you're right, the ideas pop out when we least expect them. My favorite time for that is when I'm out for a hike or jog. For some reason the physical movement and steady rhythm just loosens my thoughts and ideas will occur to me. Like you, as soon as I get home, I write them down. That happened to me yesterday. Although, sometimes I think I like my ideas better in theory than in practice-- it's always a bit of a crap shoot.
DeleteI'd never guess you ever ran dry. Your posts are always well thought out and insightful!
ReplyDeleteThanks Elizabeth-- but sometimes I feel like they are better in my head than when I actually spit them out in type. Funny, I think the same about your posts. We must have similar preferences in our post styles.
DeleteAs writers, that's all we need. One page at a time, one day at a time.
ReplyDeleteThere's an illustration I once heard about just enough light on the path for the next step we take. It's the process of faith. And writing takes a lot of faith. Yup, just one page is all I need in this moment.
DeleteWhen it's something you're meant to be doing, it will work out, only rarely as smoothly and consistently as we'd like.
ReplyDeleteGood point to remember, Nancy-- the path is rarely completely without obstacles!
DeleteLovely words and motivation. I love your analogy to the scriptures. And deadlines are mocking beasts...Yes! Whether self imposed or otherwise, those deadlines mock...
ReplyDeleteI have a love-hate relationship with them-- they keep me motivated as much as they keep me panicked!
DeleteI'm speechless. I'm sorry. Hug spamming is all I can do right now.
ReplyDeleteMr. Al-- you know I'll always take a spam hug over any words, any day. SH back (lots of 'em)
DeleteLovely post, told in a beautiful way. Thank you :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Suzanne-- definitely tells my story.
DeleteThoughts rising like yeast. lovely. Wish we didn't have this awful dependency or our creative muses.
ReplyDeleteNutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
And yet the alternative is dependence on just me. I have to do the work, show up, put the fingers on the keyboard, but I just can't help feeling it's not all on me. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteI love the way you place your confidence in the one who never lets us down! Thoughts rising like yeast, vessels filled - wonderful words, Julie.
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel sometimes. I just feel empty. And then somehow, if I sit down and write, the word come.
Thank you for this beautiful post!
That's exactly it, Tyrean. Just when I think (or so I choose to believe) that it's all on me, I remember, it's not. And I know-- or think-- you work the same way. Thanks for stopping by and your kind words.
DeleteWhat a beautiful post :) We all come by our ideas in such wonderfully varied ways. I have a friend who can only brainstorm when cooking, another when training her dogs... other stories abound, all inspiring in their own way.
ReplyDeleteI get a lot of ideas while I'm jogging or hiking-- not sure what that is, maybe because my body is distracted so my mind can run free.
DeleteThat's how I feel about my blog some days. I've been blogging for seven years - what more could I have to offer to writers and authors?
ReplyDeleteSeven years is amazing, Diane. Catch me in two or three and see if I'm doing half as good as you. Yet you always manage to come up with something I enjoy reading.
DeleteWell, I needed to read this post for personal and writing reasons. I think with life and writing we feel like the well has dried up but the muse is moving us toward where our writing should be and the same thing can be said about things in life. When we stop fighting change and allow the words and destiny to be in control, abundance will flow more freely.
ReplyDeleteIt does help to get out of the way, or at least that's what I've found. It also helps to remember that there isn't a finite amount of words and creativity to be had. And for me, it is reassuring to believe and remember I am not alone in this journey.
DeleteThat's an awesome story and analogy! I know God keeps me filled just enough to keep going.
ReplyDeleteThat's it exactly, Alex.
DeleteWow, I have those great chills running down my arms! Brilliant post! I love Elijah! He's one of my favorite prophets, and the story of him and the widow has always stuck out in my mind. It's amazing how God always gives us what we need. Even when our creative wells run dry and we lose hope, He shows us that His supply never runs out, and in our low, doubting days He remains faithful. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's how it is for me, too Celeste. I realize we're all different in our beliefs and sources of inspiration, but I too truly believe I'm not alone. I'm glad if it was as encouraging for you to read as it was for me to write!
DeleteThere are days, weeks even where I look at my schedule and say to myself, no way am I going to get through it all. And then I turn around, the day has passed and realize I got through it all and I'm still in one piece, lol. Sometimes I think we don't give ourselves enough credit. (:
ReplyDeleteNot every day turns out with a happy ending (having one of those tired, non-productive days myself, today). But yes, isn't it great when somehow...some way... it all comes together. We did it!
DeleteGreat analogy. I experience this, too.
ReplyDeleteI attribute it to exhaustion and hormones. LOL
Oh sure, bring up hormones, Melissa. Mine are all bouncy and annoying this week, but I'll spare you (and everyone else who may dip down and read this comment) further details!
DeleteVery insightful, Julie. Thanks for sharing for IWSG. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. :)
DeleteOh yes, I relate well. I write on fumes too often when I could be out doing those things that fill the oil jar (or at least get a few more drops).
ReplyDeleteI agree Gary-- for me being outside, active, or practicing music are ways to keep that creative side full.
DeleteGreat analogy. Oh, the stories you could tell about a jar of oil. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteWell Erica, let's hear a few of those stories! Now my imagination has kicked in...
DeleteI love when an idea turns into 5000 words, and a dream into a 100,000 word book.
ReplyDeleteWe've been blessed with a gift, creativity in all forms is the most beautiful of all gifts!
Very well said, Yolanda. Thanks.
DeleteI'm feeling you on this one, Julie. I, too, get in that space where I'm running low on words and ideas. "And yet, another blog entry is due, another story needs to be told, a post must be written and an article looms with its yawning deadline. I panic. I've run out of ideas. I can't put the words together. I'm depleted." This, my friend, is well said.
ReplyDeleteBut somehow (God's grace) we miraculously weave our magic word wand and get stuff written.
I do feel like a recipient of grace-- you nailed it. It also reminds me of some of the posts you've written-- about taking care of ourselves. Another important factor in keeping the jars filled.
DeleteIsn't it funny when we think we just can't, we somehow pull through and then wonder what we were ever worried about in the first place? :)
ReplyDeleteI'm just also so doggone relieved to have pulled something off.. anything!
DeleteWhat a thoughtful analogy you have here.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that as creative types, our well of ideas would never run dry, even on days when we seem less inspired. It's just a matter of finding time to think about what we want to share, and doing that little game inside our heads where we pepper ourselves with "what if" or "how come" questions.
I read that "what if" technique in some writing book I read, can't remember where. Great way to create a prompt. With my other blog, I'm always searching for some little bit of story that might be interesting to a reader, but distinguishing between what I find amusing and what a reader might find amusing isn't always easy.
DeleteThank you for the inspiration! :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for stopping by, Neo. :)
DeleteI just love the imagery you have used here. Next time I feel totally blocked (which happens often enough that I'm sure I won't have to wait long for it!) I am going to remember these jars. Great IWSG post, Julie. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Julie-- hope the book tour is going well. So awesome to see your cover on so many blogs.
DeleteYet another post that leaves me feeling uplifted. I love your posts Julie. Thank you for such a lovely, positive one. And thank you also for your words on encouragement on my posts. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm just so grateful and humbled by this community and how we encourage each other. Thanks for stopping by, Kimberly. You had a great post this week (and always).
DeleteLove this post! What a great comparison :)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the images of mocking beast deadlines and the threat of dying of creative starvation.
Lovely :)
Thanks Lexie-- It does feel that way sometimes, anyway. ;)
DeleteThat's the life of a writer! Sometimes I have to force myself to write, even though it's a bunch of crap. Some days are just like that. But the jars will fill!
ReplyDeleteIndeed it is.
Delete