On reading, commitment and ‘having time’: today.

Since I wrote my last blog post on the 3 wonders of that day, I’ve thought on many other days, what would my 3 wonders be today?

Today…

1. Reading

Such a wonder.  I have a new reader in my house and he is making sense of sounds in language and following symbols on the page, feeling pleasure in the sense of it and frustration when a sentence doesn’t run like well rehearsed music.

At night this week, I am sneaking to bed early because I’m having a great love affair with the novel Burial Rites by Hannah Kent.

My grandfather, Gumboot preached, “read at least half an hour a day of fiction because it is good for you”.  Agreed.

2.  Commitment

This is about goals and about veracity.  There is much uncertainty in commitment to a cause or a relationship or being true to yourself.  I think commitment can be damaged.

As a wonder in my day, I’ve imagined commitment as stone,  some bits crumbled and chipped away at.  New stones can restore a stone wall.  The same stones can be used to build something quite different.

So my metaphorical “wall”, is a novel draft, and drafted again.  What’s your “wall”?  A health goal, are you experiencing a relationship shake?

Commitment then is about reinforcing the value you place on something continually (for me it is writing a novel with a deadline).  I’m writing every day now, with that commitment in mind.  It has taken a long while to build to this.

Age, wear and tear, or misuse can make stones tumble.  Commitments to goals, relationships; there are crushing moments along with the heartening.  They are foundations to build upon.  Stronger the next time.  Each stone replaced in a better place to succeed in restoring the wall, how you like it.

I pledge commitment to the goal of having the manuscript as polished as I can by May 31st, 2014.  Wobble wobble.

3.  Time

Tick.

There are pockets of time in the day for everything that you want to do.

Tock.

You can find time early in the morning before sunrise to write.

Tick.

Even walk before breakfast.

Tickety Tock.  I’m regularly using the alarm on my clock to see the purple light of the morn’!

 

I hope your wonders are plentiful today.