WRITER ON THE BEACH

This is the title of my latest Pelican Pass Novel. And even though it’s a completely fictional story, I can identify myself in the heroine…not now, but in my youth. I confess I lived in the past, dreaming of what could have been or what could be, but never doing anything to make things happen.

A perfect example is how I became a closet writer. I had written short stories, poems, and novels, allowing them to sit in a box, never sharing them with anyone. Why? Because it was easier to dream than to be rejected in reality. FEAR of the unknown can cripple us.

In fiction I can alter a dream or any outcome in the story, but real life can be harsh, and we can beat ourselves up for all the things we did or didn’t do, but it won’t change the reality of what happened.

How many times have you wished you could go back in time and change things?

After my daughter died last year, it was a constant thought in my mind. But there are some things we can’t change, and I needed to focus on what was possible for me to change; Things I could do to help myself cope with the ever-present grief that was and will always be my constant companion.

I could try and be more aware and sensitive to other people and what they may be going through. To have a more open mind in accepting people who are not like me. To stop thinking I know the kind of person they are before allowing myself the opportunity of getting to know them for myself and not listen to the opinions of others.

It’s difficult not to repeat the same patterns out of habit or comfort. But once we become aware of them, we can face our challenges with a fierce determination to improve our lives, knowing our motives are never to harm anyone else with our words, thoughts or our actions. We can choose to always be KIND.

Maybe Someday...we can be more like Liberty Mae Morgan who treated strangers like friends.

Maybe Someday …we can be more perfect in an imperfect world.