Let it Rain!!

Currently, in the fine state of Colorado, where I live, we have had a few gushing rainstorms, and I have wondered as the rain blew sideways and hit me with the gale force of a monsoon soaking me to the skin in a flash, am I in the right place or did I some how get transported to some tropical island where things like this are the norm? They have truly been a sight to behold, magestic in their power and awesome in thier abiltiy to transform.

But it is Colorado after all, an extention of the desert. Sure there are mountains and we have snow, but lots of rain and flash floods with water pooling in some places five feel high has never happened in the years I've lived here. Not that it doesn't bring its own brand of excitement and entertainment. My kids have soaked their clothes and played in the rain thoroughly exhilarated at the prospect of running through the gutters at the side of the road splashing to their hearts content loving every minute of it!

But I have to admit that seeing the trees blow sideways and and the rain pour off my roof and then later my car as I was driving, I was surprised by the power behind it all.

But the thing is, no matter how hard the rain storm, there is always a rainbow at the end. A beautiful portrayal of color splashed across the sky. Signaling new beginnings and things washed clean and turned new once more. It is a beautiful thing to know that there is renewal in the rain. A chance for a fresh start, or even a hint of some new beginning that lets you grow and brings a resurgence of life. The birds sing sweetly in the air, the sun sends its golden rays down to dispel the darkness and the water brings life both to the world and in as sense to our spirits, refreshing us and reminding us that everything gets a chance to start over again.

I like the idea of fresh starts and new chances. When life weighs you down, it can pick you up when you least expect it and send a resurgence of hope and faith and excitement for what life may hold for you right around the corner. I have decided that sometimes it all really boils down to a decision. A choice to make your life better, to believe it can be. To turn from the old and embrace the new opportunities and creative expressions waiting to be discovered. That sometimes all we need to begin again, is make the decision, to begin again. It's that easy. And as with the rain bring refreshing moisture and cool breezes and even sometimes a raging storm, they all work to bring a cl easing, whether of the earth or the soul, it can be one and the same it relates to the decisions to move forward and embrace the future with all the excitement it can bring.

So I say, let it rain. Open the heavens and let it pour on down, because in the cleansing comes the new beginnings, the fresh starts and then creativity on so many fascinating levels!

Writing is Life

Sometimes when I am frustrated or just need to figure things out, I find it helps to write. Writing anything at all, it doesn't seem to matter what it is as long as it is something. It has a cathartic ability to release stress, help manage anger, hurt or pain. It can even bring about a sense of accomplishment, joy, or a sense of euphoria . . . especially if you get published. Maybe being published isn't necessary to feel that happiness, but it doesn't hurt either. And it fills a deep seated need to create.

I find that when I am working through something important in my life that writing it out helps a lot. And what I am finding now, is that I can get a lot accomplished if I just write. I feel more settled and ready to hit things head on, well maybe not head on, but at least I take a step forward.

I write about my family, my kids and events around me and most of it is in a private journal not meant for other's eyes. I would feel to vulnerable writing my deepest thoughts for all to see, and judge me. I would feel too exposed and raw. Those things I write out long hand in a spiral notebook, that I share with my husband, sometimes my children, and once in a while a few close friends.

I write adventures, and stories and fantasies that bring a happily ever after -- most of the time. Sometimes I write the gruesome and scary, to see what dark road it winds down.

If I don't write, don't get my feelings out some how, I get restless. Sometimes it is hard to identify what is causing it, but when I finally get that pen in my hand, or the computer in my lap to write, I settle down. Then I write and write until the words no longer speak to me, no longer call me to head what they want me to say. Until emptiness is all that remains and I am purged and then I feel so much better. Emotions spent and words played out how they may.

Then there are the times when I write and all my dreams and yearnings pour out on the page. I can be free then, say what I wouldn't in real life. To have courage and conviction. To wish and hope and soar to the skies and back as I make wishes come true with a swish of a fairy wand or a bit of magic. Things that real life doesn't always grant, I can with my pen. It is exciting, fun, and wonderful to escape within the words of my own making.

I am forever grateful to have found my voice, to have freed it. To use it how I will to push me forward in my dreams for the future.

I will write always, for the rest of my life and in that writing I can release who I really am. And at times, I share that part of me no one else knows about when I write with others. When I create I live in freedom. I write life, because to write for me is to live.

So I turn it to you now and wonder, what do you write and why? Have you ever thought about it? Maybe you should and then you can discover what writing really means to you.