R-E-S-P-E-C-T


An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.

"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

::::::::::
 
This legend can be applied to our writing.
 
If your lives are anything like mine, you're pulled in 99 jillion directions every day. Someone needs this, you promised that, you must go here, you want to go there. Family. Friends. Responsibilities. And somewhere in all the hubbub comes the time we need to commit to our writing.
 
We need to feed what we want to nurture.
 
If we want to nurture our social lives, we go out, make friends, visit, party, mingle.

If we need to nurture our health, we pay extra attention to diet, exercise, and all the things the doctors tell us we need to do.
 
If our writing is what we choose to nurture, we need to give it the same respect we give to other areas of our lives.

Watch one less sitcom or news program and you gain thirty minutes of writing time. One night a week serve something pre-prepared for dinner and you gain at least another thirty minutes. Play one less game of solitaire. If time is your enemy, review your schedules.

Don't toss your new idea into a corner and let it gather dust. Put it on a pedestal. Talk to it. View it from all sides, top, and bottom. Play with it. Feed and water it. With attention and care from you, those ideas will grow of their own accord. If you have a problem getting from concept to completion, spend more time with your ideas.

Bottom Line? Respect.

Respect your ideas. Your ideas will respect you.

Respect your time. When you allow yourself to make time for your writing, those in your life will show more respect for your work and more respect for the choices you make.

It comes back to you. You have to be the strong one.

Respect is earned.

Comments

Terry Odell said…
Very good post. Writing as a 'real' as everything else in our lives.
What a great legend. I like how you applied it to writing. I’m inspired to give up a solitaire game or two or three...
Carol Kilgore said…
Terry - Thanks. It's up to us to show how real it is.

Jane - I don't even play anymore because I don't know when to quit.
Helen Ginger said…
Very good advice. If writing is what you want to do, you have to give it priority. Set aside time for it and don't let that time get whisked away for something else. Thanks.

Helen
Straight From Hel
Elspeth Futcher said…
Excellent advice, Carol and I'll try to remember it. Writing always seems to get pushed to the back of the line - I'll endeavour to treat it with more respect.
Mason Canyon said…
Very inspiring post. Love the legend and it's one we can apply to so many things. Thanks for the reminder.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress
Talli Roland said…
Love this post, Carol, and what a great legend. I like how how you bring it back to writing... and what you say is so true. We must respect our ideas if we want them to flourish!
Anonymous said…
Excellent post, Carol. It was also a very effective kick in the hiney I needed. Thank you. :)
Carol Kilgore said…
Helen - It's something I have to try to remember, too.

Elspeth - Me, too.

Mason - I love this legend, too.

Talli - Respect is the key.

Kimberly - I need a kick, too :)
Aubrie said…
Oh boy, great post! Sometime I feed my doubts....and I shouldn't.
Ann Best said…
What a wonderful metaphor!! And how true. It feels so good when you cut out the non-essentials so you do have time to write. This is what I've been doing, and I'm much more relaxed and productive.

Thanks for such a thought provoking post, and I hope you're having a lovely day.
Conda Douglas said…
A great reminder to me, Carol, of what to feed--my writing (which is going to starve this week as I work on film).
Carol Kilgore said…
Aubrie - Guilty of that here, too.

Ann - Thank you for such a nice comment. I'm glad this is working for you. My day has been lovely. Hope yours was, too.
Carol Kilgore said…
Conda - Film ... I watch them. Does that count?
notesfromnadir said…
I love that Cherokee legend. Thanks for sharing it! :)
Glynis said…
Carol,

You should repost this about every 6 months. Once for the people down under and once for those of us up above and post it when the weather is bleak for either. It is so inspirational and uplifting.
Carol Kilgore said…
Thank you, Glynnis. I'm glad you found it uplifting.

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