Sunday, February 2, 2014

On reconnecting with my purpose...

I have been watching a lot of PBA 30 right now - Public Broadcasting Atlanta. It's one of the few channels that comes in clearly on our rabbit ear antenna in the bedroom. I'm not going to complain because I finally have access to Downton Abbey and Sherlock as they are first run episodes.

Yesterday, I was sick in bed all day. I literally did not leave the bedroom until 4:30 P.M., and it was just for a few minutes then. I spent the whole day sleeping and watching PBA 30. There was an episode of "Priceless Antiques Roadshow" and there was a documentary on Mel Brooks.

Now, these two shows may not seem like they have anything in common, but they did. You see, each of them contained the line "When I was eight years old..." The line was spoken first by one of the antiques experts on "Priceless Antiques Roadshow" and later by Mel Brooks in his documentary. Each of them had connected to his passion, his purpose at the age of eight. I marveled each time at how amazing it was that these men had found their purposes at such a young age, and I felt envious.

When I heard Mel Brooks say it, I also thought about how I couldn't remember having a strong desire or aptitude for any one career when I was a child. That is, until I averted my eyes from the TV and instead looked upon the bookshelf.

Eight was when I started reading chapter books and fell head over heels in love with reading and writing. I just about wore out my Little House on the Prairie books. I eventually started writing my own stories, too. I had dreams of being a published writer.

Those dreams came to fruition in college, when I started writing for my school's newspaper. I wrote for the paper for three years. I wish I had started sooner, but I honestly didn't have the courage to start sooner. It took a lot of urging from a really good friend to get me to apply. It was a huge shock to see my first story on the front page of the newspaper's first issue.

Since college ended, I've drifted away from that purpose. The only regular writing I do now is to update my Facebook status or Twitter account. I'm hoping that I can start to reconnect with that purpose by blogging more. I have no expectation that I will ever write for another newspaper or see my name on a bound book, but I do still love and enjoy the outlet that writing gives me. I genuinely appreciate the sharing opportunities available via the blogosphere. Of course, I would still be writing this somewhere even if blogging weren't an option.

I'm truly excited about this new adventure, about blogging more regularly, and about reconnecting with that purpose I found at eight years old. I really think this is something that will connect with my One Little Word for 2014, joy. Because, honestly, if there isn't joy in reconnecting with your purpose, where can you find joy?

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