Day 29 - Precious books and the need to write.

　

Crap cleared: children's books

I stood mesmerised before the gondola of books. I don’t know what had drawn me to this section of the department store because I was there to buy a gymnastics leotard and a couple of roll-under-the-bed plastic storage containers. The pictures on the covers, the titles, the authors, the words were all calling to me. I could feel their power and I wanted to become one with it.

And of course the title of this piece of fiction jumped up at me: "The pile of stuff at the bottom of the stairs". I’m sure Christina Hopkinson could just as easily have replaced stuff with CRAP in her title. I skimmed through and read a few random pages and found I could enjoy her content.



This pic is totally unrelated to the blog...
I just thought the browns and greens of my
courtyard looked especially pretty this morning!
(110cm outdoor clock by i believe in this) )



I cannot remember the last time I bought a work of fiction. Other than a couple of gardening, craft, finance, cookery and medical books and magazines, my bookshelf is 80% self-help. What I read is all about improving myself; trying to become a better person; trying to find happiness, direction and fulfilment and an understanding of life. Titles like: First things first, Don’t sweat the small stuff, Instant Calm, The art of happiness and Freedom Is; and books from authors such as Stephen Covey, Edward De Bono, Eckhart Tolle and Mike Robinson. In the past when I found time to read, it was not really an enjoyable, relaxing journey into a make-believe story, or even an adventure to captivate imagination with messages to learn and grow from. Science fiction!... why would I waste my time! My reading was always all about trying to figure out how I can fix what is wrong with me.

There are still bookmarks in most items on my bookshelves, identifying the spot, part way through where I stopped reading. I usually do not finish a book. For some reason I lose interest or don’t find the time. It has to be really engaging for me to read through to the last page.

What I have recently discovered is that you need to be ready to receive the information you’re reading. For example, I started reading Eckhart Tolle’s The power of now last year some time, and I don’t think I got passed the first few chapters. I was not open or ready to process and understand the messages. Last week I started reading his more recent book A new earth - create a better life and it is really resonating so true for me, I can hardly put it down. Likewise, with my other recent reading from James Redfield and Mike Robinson, I’ve sped through to the end, soaking up all the wisdom on offer.

I can relate this to the process of clearing the CRAP.

You need to be ready for it.

For how long has my mother been trying to get my father to clear all of his crap out of their garage? No matter how many times she asks him and punishes him for not doing so, he’s not going to clean up his crap until he is ready. And for how long have I had that mountain of financial paperwork building up and daring me to tackle it? Not ready yet... I'll save that one for another day!!

When the time is right on your journey of life, you will be able to face your crap, process the issues associated with it, and move forward. When the time is right, the information you need will present itself to you.

While staring at all the shiny new books, the title and content of my very own masterpiece came to me. I have been contemplating a literary work that will benefit my children, but this idea is now shaping into something that could reach a wider audience. I felt the force of those books today telling me that it’s time to start working on that project.

So today I decided to clear the crap from my bookcases, but I didn’t get very far. My books are way too precious to part with. I was easily able to cull the children’s shelves and now have this pile of kids books to donate.

　

　

Oh, and I bought the fiction book about a pile of stuff and look forward to a leisurely read.

　

Day 29 observations:

• I must not let fear of the unknown prevent me from trying something new - just commence the writing and see where it takes me.