Many people wait around for happiness to find them but if you really think about it, it’s really only a positive thought away. Being happy can be a choice you make. With all the chaos that life brings into our lives, it’s really difficult to find a way to be carefree. With so much on our minds, I can see how one can get caught up feeling stressed, angry, confused, frustrated or lost.
For me, I’m at a point in my life where I’ve come to realize that I have to stop, live in the moment and appreciate everything that I already have and everyone who is around me. I try to be optimistic even when the deck is stacked against me because there is always something positive to be gained from all the hardships I’ve gone through.
Everyday that I wake up, I thank God that I get to enjoy another day regardless of how good or bad it is. I don’t worry about the past or the future…now is what’s important to me. I look around and enjoy the small things in life that give me joy.
Yeah it’s easy to say all this and hard to do, but with enough practice it can be done. It took me awhile to get this optimistic attitude but I did it. Enjoy your life, be grateful for your family, friends and pets, be content with what you have and bask in the little things that make life worth living. You’ve come this far, just imagine what the world can offer you.
So don’t wait for happiness to find you, grow it yourself…it’ll do wonders for your life.
Frustration
Where To Find That Fountain Of Endless Ideas
I know I’ve broached the subject on what to blog or not blog before, but I just can’t seem to let it go. So please forgive me if I sound like a broken record.
Being a writer, I’ve always made it a point to write often and consistently; it’s the only way that we as writers get better at our craft. When I’m writing a screenplay, I just seem to have an endless supply of ideas…a flash flood of thoughts just inundate my brain and there is no barrier to quell it. But that’s a good problem to have in that instance.
In the case of my blog site though, I tend to hit a road block week after week. You’d think that after two years of having this site I’d be a pro by now, but that isn’t the case. I’m one of the unfortunate ones that just doesn’t have a niche.
I hate to say this but I’m quite envious (more like jealous) of the blog sites that I follow. They all seem to have found their “voice” and are excelling at making their site exceptionally well thought out. Their writing is intriguing and holds me emotionally; I actually become invested into what they have to say.
Day after day, week after week, their vast array of topics are fresh, interesting and sometimes unconventional; it’s like they have an unlimited amount of ideas to choose from at their disposal. Sigh…I wish that I could be like them…they’re my idols.
For me to come up with a topic on my blog site is somewhat excruciating. I never really know what I’m going to write until the day before, and even then it’s not the best of topics sometimes.
You might say, “Then why do you have to write something every week? Why don’t you write once a month? Or why don’t you write when you have something relevant to say?”
I can answer all those questions in one simple answer – I’m a writer…plain and simple. I have to write on a consistent basis to get better at my craft. I’m not the most eloquent, artistic, humorous or intelligent of writers but I love what I do nonetheless. 
This sense of freedom; getting into a Zen-like state where you pen “heart” to paper and let it loose upon the internet masses. This is what I enjoy the most.
So I guess I’ll never crack this dilemma of the conception for new weekly blog ideas. Maybe that’s good thing, who knows. All I know is that I’m still here sitting at my desk…writing…because “I am a writer.”
A Writing Dry Spell
Did you ever have those times when you had a dry spell with your writing? Whether it be for your blog, script, story, essay, correspondence letter or note to a friend, your mind’s well was empty. No topics are in play, no words come to mind, things just don’t flow freely from pen to paper so to speak.
It’s like you struggle just to get a cohesive sentence together; every brain cell is squeezed to spew out the words needed to bring forth a sentence. AND the kicker is that it’s really not what you want to convey. You just put something down for the sake of having something substantial to work from.
All of us as writers hit this dry spell throughout our careers, it’s inevitable and just plain sucks. During these times I just don’t feel like a writer and I truly feel as if I failed. Don’t know why, but I just do.
“Why does this have to happen?!”
Our minds are capable of doing and creating so much more…so why is it that our minds fail us? Is it just a way of our brain telling us that it’s going on a short vacation so we can’t write until it gets back?
What do we do in the meantime? How do we continue on with our craft if our mind isn’t cooperating? Not writing anything makes me feel empty and having to endure this drought is challenging. Often during times like these is when I start to worry…has my mind’s well of creativity gone dry? Will I ever come up with another idea or story ever again? 
So many questions with no immediate answers. My confidence gets put through the ringer and then some. But luckily for me, I’ve been through this rodeo and I know that I just need to ride out the storm.
My mind eventually regains its composure and my creativity resets itself. My brain becomes cognizant of all the new ideas and stories and starts to file them in my intellectual storage file; the amount of information is so overwhelming that I’m faced with another dilemma…which story to work on first, too little time to get all this stuff out and words constantly oozing out just begging to be put on page.
Guess that’s a better situation to be in than a writing dry spell but either way I’ll gladly endure both as long as my passion for writing remains constant.
The Pitfalls of Being a Writer
I not the best writer in the world, but I’m certainly not the worst; after 25 years of writing poems, children stories, short stories and screenplays, I believe that I’ve at least developed my craft of writing to the point where I’m able to express my thoughts.
I always make an attempt to write every day; no excuses whatsoever. As a writer, I make it a point to write in a succinct manner where my thoughts and words are easily understood by the reader and frames the piece of writing with my unique voice, style, heart and soul.
It doesn’t matter if my words are eloquent or simple, as long as the reader connects with what I’ve written then that’s all that matters. Good writing is something that’s both memorable to the writer and reader alike. 
With all that said, my one downfall of being an aspiring writer is when I have to correspond with a fellow co-worker, friend or family member via e-mail.
Every time I’m trying to send a message to them, my writer’s mindset kicks in and it feels as if I’m trying to compose something that should be considered for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
What I’m writing could be a response for a party invitation, updating what’s been going in my life to a friend or family member or telling the co-worker a status of a project. It should be simple to reply back, right?
HELL NO!!! For me it’s complete anxiety to the infinite degree!!!
I’m brainstorming what I should write, selecting words that must be perfect, constructing sentences so that it’s a bit creative and humorous and making sure that brevity is enforced.
“Why can’t I write it like I speak it?! Isn’t that good enough?!” For the rest of the world – YES! For me…it’s just not sufficient enough…sigh.
I type something down and then I rewrite it to the point of exhaustion; to top that off, before I hit “SEND”, I have to carefully read it to make sure that I conveyed what needed to be said correctly.
I take something that’s super simple to do and turn it into a monumental task of outrageous proportions. It’s totally, freakin’ ridiculous what I go through. (Don’t get me started on Birthday, Sympathy or Wedding cards…that another beast in itself.) Again, maybe it’s the writer’s mindset or maybe it’s just me being a bit too anal, I kinda like to think it the former.
Anyway…anytime I’m tasked with writing anything I, subconsciously or intentionally, am trying to make sure my words come across to the recipient in a way that makes them realize that a “writer” wrote this.
Midlife, Maniacal & Me 