Forging Ahead

The long hot summer is over. Thank God.

The last time I posted to this blog,I was wiping away those artist's tears. Someone's off-hand comment about the futility of my efforts, had me doubting whether or not I could succeed at my work. I even wondered if maybe I should quit and try something else.

I've heard many such comments from friends, relatives, and strangers over the last decade; comments like, "What is it that you do, exactly?" and "Do you get paid for that?" and the ever popular "You're still writing?"

Normally these comments make me laugh. Because, yes, I'm still writing. I get paid for it. What's so difficult to understand about that, anyway?

But,in the heat of August, in the midst of the dead weighted summer lull, the comment stung me. I cried. For a few minutes anyway.

I was dehydrated and tired enough to let the discouragement set in. Fatique was stripping me of creativity and energy.

It wasn't easy, but I managed to move past the discouragement. I wrote my grant proposal, several queries, and a couple of articles. I kept working on my books.
I also took time to revise my business plan.

Best of all, I started to put a little more balance in my life -- exercising, eating right, praying, and planning my days.

My efforts bore fruit. The assignments are coming in. And I feel great.

Forging ahead with wisdom, even when we don't feel like it, makes the difference between "wishing for" and "making" a future. Staying on track is essential. So, is focusing our time and efforts more efficiently.

When blank pages stare at us, we must fill them. When dark thoughts fill our mind we must push them out with light.

Doing is the best antidote to a negative world. We must speak life, when the world speaks death to us. And remain single-minded and focus upon our work because 'a double minded man is unstable in all his dealings.' (James 1: 8)

Jane Harris Zsovan writes in both mainstream in Canadian publications about faith, business, arts, and contemporary Canada. She is the author of Stars Appearing: The Galts' Vision of Canada

She contributed "Jessie's Generation: Canada's Firebrands of Mercy and Justice" to Hot Apple Cider: Stories to Warm the Heart and Stir the Soul

She writes Vision of Canada Blog, on contemporary and historical Canada.

Time to Rediscover Our Voices - Harris

July can be quiet for Canadian writers. Editors, publishers and people we want to interview are often away. We have no choice: We must enjoy the sunshine. Listen to the birds. Walk in the meadows.

Those of us who write books may love this uninterrupted time to write proposals, research projects, and design plots. Fewer deadlines give us extra time to renew that creative spark. That helps breathe new life into projects that grew stale under a pile of winter deadlines.

During summer, we don't cling so tightly to our desks.

When it's hot, I spend at least one day a week working in an air conditioned library or achives. Sometimes, I find a sunny window beside a rock garden and dream up queries for magazines. Sometimes, I edit a summer assignment.

Summer is a good time to research history books. Last week, I sipped coffee in the library cafe while I read 19th century newspaper headlines about the District of Alberta's war footing during the Riel Rebellion. Other headlines shouted the nation's response to the death of Sir John A. Macdonald. A local reporter proclaimed the work of Father Lacombe at Macleod.

Summer lets us escape our routines. Time spent hiking mountain trails, visiting family, travelling to historic sites, or even pulling weeds in the garden often brings fresh ideas. As we think, pray and listen, we may suddenly be inspired to pursue new projects.

We may also realize that some projects we have been pursuing aren't in His plan. Realizing you must revise or change course can be unsettling. Change is risky. It usually means starting from scratch on something we're not sure we can do. But without it, our work grows stale and worthless.

So, don't be surprised if you find yourself moving in a new direction after your summer break. Don't fret about it, either.

God is better at managing careers than we are.

And that's the exciting part.


Jane Harris Zsovan writes in both mainstream in Canadian publications about faith, business, arts, and contemporary Canada. She is the author of Stars Appearing: The Galts' Vision of Canada

She contributed "Jessie's Generation: Canada's Firebrands of Mercy and Justice" to Hot Apple Cider: Stories to Warm the Heart and Stir the Soul

She writes Vision of Canada Blog, on contemporary and historical Canada.