LINDA ELLIS

Time Doesn't Care!

Have you ever walked through a cemetery or happened upon the newspaper’s obituary section and taken a moment to ponder that small, seemingly insignificant piece of punctuation between the date of someone’s birth and the date he/she has left this earth? This undersized symbol is often overlooked because focus is inevitably on the dates themselves. Yet that little line…that little “dash” ultimately represents every step we take on earth, every breath we breathe and all of our life’s actions.

In the “slice and bake” mentality of the 21st Century, we have allowed ourselves to become so hurried and pressured that we forget, or better yet – conveniently ignore – the fact that this little line is not infinite; it begins and in just a short distance, comes to an end.

The only way to learn to fully cherish each day is to deal-in-real and accept the fact that we don’t know the day when we will run out of tomorrows. If you are troubled by this concept, or believe it to be a morbid perception, then you are in denial. Until this epiphany awakens your senses, and you can talk about death as a reality, and grasp the brevity of this dash with which you have been blessed, true appreciation for life cannot begin. When we are born and we take that first, independent, deliberate breath into our lungs, we are signing an invisible contract with life…that we will do everything we can to preserve, cherish and LIVE it! By seizing and inhabiting our moments and living our dash, in lieu of simply existing, we are abiding by that first unspoken oath.

Sure, every dash has its share of troubles and woes, but time doesn’t care. It moves on, regardless. If we spend our limited time on earth focusing on nothing but our problems, we subconsciously disregard all that is not a problem. When we postpone living until everything is running smoothly and efficiently in our lives, we forfeit the minutes of our now. When we spend current hours regretting yesterday and worrying about tomorrow, we often fail to recognize the day between those two…

I wrote in my new book: “Live in your now; be conscious, sincere.  Let your mind allow you to be in your here!”  Instead of focusing on your next achievement or acquisition, focus on the present, the blessings all around you, the loved ones in your life and the sheer pleasure found in just being.
 
Excerpt to ponder from my poem: The Dash:
 
“For it matters not, how much we own,
the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.”

My Payment

When I began sharing my writings many years ago, I started receiving responses from those whose hearts and lives had been touched by my words in some way.  Each email, letter or voice mail commanded my complete attention.  I would read them again and again, and I didn't realize until later how much those words from others fueled my desire to continue writing.  The realization of how those responses sustained and inspired me unfolded as the "deals" began to be made and my passion for creative writing became the victim of a "hostile takeover" from the dollar signs of profit.

Many years ago when I'd entered into a particular publishing contract, the publisher decided they wanted to own and operate my web site(s) as well.  Naivety  being my only excuse in hindsight, I agreed.  Oh, they didn't do it maliciously, they paid me handsomely every month.  However, I soon began to realize, there was something missing...something I needed...a void that could not be filled with cash.  It was communication.  Communication to, and more importantly from those for whom I write.  My words had indeed been out there inspiring people, but I needed to know it.  I needed to hear it.  I needed to feel it.  I learned that receiving feedback and knowing I was touching lives was my true payment, not the checks. For two years, I went without hearing from those who were reading and being inspired by my thoughts and ideas, which I now recognize as my true payment for writing.  I also went without creating, went without writing, went without inspiring or being inspired during the time I'd been denied that connection.  My creative fire had literally gone out because the fuel it needed to burn had disappeared.  Upon renewal time for that website deal, I opted out of the agreement.  I wanted...no...I needed to have that contact and communication, to know what I was doing was actually making a difference, in order to continue my inspirational writing.

Now, I know it's a business to the publishers and they produce a product and sales are their main focus.  Therefore, they kept all of that email, every letter and every phone message because each represented a sale, both current and future.  Distribution and mailing lists were built for their company and have grown tremendously since with those initial contact names as their foundation.  But, what they (and I) had failed to realize was that every one of those pieces of communication and correspondence meant so much more to me than just a sale.  

This realization was also played out perfectly when I received a Facebook post from an older woman a few months ago.  She had gone to the bookstore to purchase my new book the SAME DAY it was released.  She said she was so excited when the salesperson handed my book to her, she hugged him! Reading her words literally made my heart smile.  Coincidentally, I had received a royalty check the same day I'd read her note.  The notion hit me even harder as I held the check in my hand and read her words, simultaneously.  That check, though it represented my livelihood, would never be the reason I write.  In my latest book, Live Your Dash, I wrote:  "I believe if an author or poet writes with the intent to profit, rather than to inspire, the result is transparent to the critical eye of the reader, which can discern words derived not from sincerity, nor from the heart, but from desperate, empty pockets."

And I have indeed received a large amount of email, letters and calls over the years regarding my writing.  I can honestly say I've read every word of every one of them.  Initially, had I known they were to keep coming over the years, I would have begun saving them all to be bound in a wonderful keepsake for myself.  I may not have had time to respond to each, but if someone uses time from his/her "dash" to write to me about how my words have touched a life or a heart, I will take the time  from my "dash" to read what they've sent.  No matter how big my business grows, I intend to honor that practice.  I do it, not only out of respect for those who contact me, but out of my own personal desire to know...know that my words are reaching people...know that there are people out there who "get" what I'm trying my best to convey, and are inspired.

So, if you are ever inclined to write, but think (as many have written) that I'll never see or read what you send, you're wrong.  As long as I am able, I will read each and every letter or email I receive, because not only are they very special to me, but they directly inspire me to write more. I've said this often, but I'll say it again:  Inspiring YOU, Inspires ME!

 

 

Remember Me - Beliefnet.com

My poem, "Remember Me" shared on Beliefnet.com

Remember Me - Beliefnet.com