Passion-driven . . .

Passion for the art drives most artists- the purists- in any genre. When the passion of the artist battles or overcomes major obstacles to bring forth the art, it is so very inspirational.

A friend of mine actually surpasses the word inspirational! The man lives and breaths music- very talented in singing, playing keyboards and writing. A Christian man, music is his area of ministry. He brings so much joy to others with his talents.

Over the last few months, however, this man went through an extremely difficult situation where he was taken completely away from what makes him happiest. The situation was so severe that he actually lost 80 pounds! Now some in these same circumstances would become bitter and depressed. Not my friend. He came through the situation with his emotions and faith in tact and several new songs! He is eager to share his gift, his passion!

Two other people that also brought tears to my eyes, joy to my heart and new purpose to my mind are strangers- I have only read about their individual struggles.

One young lady is much like my friend in living and breathing music. Her struggle is that she is gradually losing her hearing; and at some point in the near future, she will be completely deaf. This young lady is trying to fit as much music into her life as possible at this moment. She is living life at its fullest and enjoying music while she can instead of sitting back and asking why.

Another woman I just read about is a middle-age miracle. At birth, her parents were told she would not live long- and she would be nothing but a vegetable. Far surpassing the doctor's expectations, the woman is married and living a fairly normal life. She does have some physical limitations such as having to use a wheelchair. But her spirit has no limitations, she embraces life.

Over the years, the woman has dabbled in art despite her malformed hands. While there were those who discouraged her efforts, thankfully there were supporters as well. This amazing lady is now taking college art classes and her work has been featured in art displays.

Thinking about these three people the last few days brought about different emotions. I am blessed in this stage of my writing journey with a wonderful co-writer who is very supportive not to mention totally brilliant! That fact and my strong faith are good foundations in following my passion of writing. When obstacles present themselves- and they will in some form or another- I will say a special thank you to my three inspirations for reminding me to never give up on my passion...

Secrets One - The Series

Thinking about mom . . .

My mom is currently facing some health issues that have caused me to step back and really think about her as a person, and her influence on me.

The first word that comes to mind is survivor. Her biological mother tried to hide her pregnancy by wearing double corsets, not allowing the growing baby much room at all. My grandparents adopted her, and took her home from the hospital when she was only a day old.

My grandmother had to massage her arms and legs to help straighten them. That was only the beginning of the life-threatening issues that Mom would encounter at intervals throughout her life, and would overcome. Perhaps that is where her strong will or stubborness came from, or she survived because of it.

Mom was not the luckiest in love either but did not give up trying. She got married the first time at 15, and set off from rural Ohio to live with her new husband in California. When that marriage did not last, she went back to Ohio and eventually married my biological father.

She was strong enough to leave that physically abusive marriage, and I admire her for that. We spent several years with my grandparents before Mom met the love of her life, and the man I called Dad. They were married 30 years before leukemia took his life.

These events all helped to form the person she is, but do not tell the whole story. Mom loves music of all kinds. She herself had a beautiful soprano singing voice as a young lady. She is creative, too- enjoying sewing, crochet and embroidery over the years. She still enjoys arranging silk flowers and other decorations for her living space.

Mom remains a spiritual person, a quiet underlying part of her. This spirituality may be why she loves everyone, despite how she may be treated. What a lesson to be so non-judgmental and loving. She is a social person, and loves to be part of the group.

In myself, I can see her spirituality, love of music, her creativity, her friendliness and enjoyment of being with others, never giving up on the search for true love, and an underlying survivor spirit. She has a ready smile, and I have actually been told that I have the same smile.

One thing I have to laugh about is cooking. I remember Mom cooking some decent meals, but my grandmother was really the cook in the family. I seem to take after Mom there, too! But that is ok.

Mom's health issues now could take away her thoughts and memories, but I will have mine. And thanks to her influences, I can use my creativity to preserve those through my writing.

I love you, Mom!

Secrets One - The Series

Revisiting old school . . .

For those who read my blog, you may recall that I definitely lean toward being old-school when it comes to certain things - in particular the electronic reading devices also known as e-books or digital books.

I will always love the feel of a book in my hands. I joke about being borderline obsessive-compulsive, and when I have a new book to read you would see what I mean! While dust covers are an attractive addition and do help protect the actual book cover, I tend to take it off- at least initially- to examine the cover. I look at the color, the texture and how the wording has been embossed or printed. I continue my examination of how the book is put together, feeling the paper used, and the edging on the pages. Sometimes- I even peek at the ending!

There are different smells on books, too. Could be a new smell, or perhaps a distinctive smell of a paper-type. Old books tend to have a distinct smell, too. It is a total experience, beginning long before the reading. I don't think I can have the same experience with an electronic device. There is no substitute for the real thing....

But - my interest has been piqued recently. There was the news that the devices are outselling actual books at some sources. Not long after reading that, I actually looked at information for one of the models- can you believe it??? Well, what caught my eye was the claim that the device can hold 100 books! That is impressive, even I must say! When I have the chance to read, I tend to go through a book quickly and then want more- so having 100 digital books at hand would be great!

Don't expect a quick convert though. I am not entirely convinced that the experience will be as pleasing reading a book on a "device". But, I will be doing more research, no doubt.

I cannot believe though that hard copy books will ever totally disappear. After all, how would an author sign the latest release?

Secrets One - The Series