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MUSINGS ON LIFE
I think; therefore, I muse
 
DIANE HUGHES • NASHVILLE, TN
WRITER, EDITOR, CREATIVE PROFESSIONAL

You can't go home again ... or can you?

6/3/2012

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go home again, can you go home again?, home, childhoodWe moved into this house when I was just 1 year old.
_Rain was gently falling as I parked the car in front of my childhood home. It was the day before Mother's Day and just a few days until the 9th anniversary of my mother's death. Stopping to survey the old homestead was tugging at my heartstrings, and the gloomy weather seemed an appropriate backdrop to my melancholy mood.

I looked around, noting the familiar and seeing how the hands of time and other people had changed the only home I knew until the day I got married. The house was sold a few years after my mother's death; it had fallen into the hands of interlopers, intruders. A catering business had invaded the space where my mother once baked cornbread and cooked Thanksgiving dinners.

I noted the "For Sale" near the mailbox, an indication the catering business had gone bust or moved on. Since the property is now commercial, much of the front yard is covered with asphalt. (Paved paradise, put up a parking lot.) The backyard is bereft of the trees I once climbed in. But some landmarks of my youth remain. The big tree in the front yard still stands tall, no longer flocked by the irises my mother planted there but still shading the house where no one lives.  

I grabbed my umbrella and stepped from the car to look around. I walked to the side of the house and looked up at my old bedroom window. That window was my view to the world as I listened to American Top 40 countdowns. That room was my refuge as I scribed in my diary and cried crocodile tears over a long list of boys. It all looked the same ... but somehow different.

As I stood there feeling a bit heartsick, I reminded myself it's not the place that's important but what happened there. Long after this house is torn down, the memories I made here will still live on. Mom is no longer on this Earth, but the lessons she taught me are no less valuable. And when I'm gone, whatever I've done with those lessons will live on through me.

Dodging raindrops, I got back into the car. As I prepared to drive away, I wondered: Can you go home again? With all due respect to Thomas Wolfe, I say you can. When you carry home in your heart, it's always with you. My memories are as deeply rooted as the tree that still stands sentinel in the front yard. No one can take those memories away from me. 

Someone recently reminded me that living in the past makes you depressed, living in the future makes you anxious, and living in the present puts you at peace. Yes, you can go home again — the key is you can't stay there. While you may revisit that place from time to time, whether literally or figuratively, you must gather up your life lessons and keep moving forward. 
old trees grow stronger every day
The old tree still stands tall.
As I edged the car from the parking lot and back onto the two-lane road, I took a last glance in the rearview mirror. I could feel the weight of my all childhood hopes and dreams, but they weren't pulling me back — they were urging me forward ... back to the present. So I pointed my car toward home and headed back to Nashville ... to make new memories and dream new dreams. 

Do you have strong ties to your childhood home? How does visiting that place make you feel? Please share your thoughts in the Comments below.
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The road less travelled

4/29/2012

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Road not taken, road less travelledWhich road will you choose?
My favorite poem is Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken. The thought of that road less travelled allows me to see the world as a place rife with choices and opportunities. The key is you have to choose!

One road may be familiar and safe while the other holds uncertainty but the promise of new experiences. I'll admit to sometimes taking the safe and easy path, but there have been times when I've stepped outside my comfort zone — ziplining in Costa Rica, backpacking in the Grand Canyon, launching a blog — and found rich rewards. The unfamiliar path can be frightening, but we never know what we're capable of if we don't take that step.

Step out. Take a chance. The road is waiting. The choice is yours. 
                 
Have you taken a chance lately? Have you tried something new but decidedly different? What were the results? Please share your thoughts in the Comments.
    
As Frost's poem is in the public domain, I am sharing it below in its entirety.


The Road Not Taken
By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.



And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — 
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
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Blogger burnout: Refilling your empty vessel

4/15/2012

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empty vessel
When you've given all you have, it's hard to keep on giving. That's why I took a short hiatus from blogging to (a) go on vacation (b) deal with household calamities (hail damage to car and house; a ruptured water heater) and (c) just to chill and refill after a months-long freelance project. 

Each of us is a vessel, a conduit, bringing our own unique talent to the world — whatever that may be. But it's hard to pour out anything to share with the world when your vessel is empty. Sometimes you need to allow yourself time to rest and recharge — and refill.

How does one refill? I believe it's by engaging in whatever allows YOU to find enjoyment and a sense of self. Whether that's gardening, photography, listening to music, going for a hike, taking a vacation or taking time to reconnect with good friends, refilling the vessel is different for each person. 

So, if you're feeling a bit harried, take a break. Then you'll come back to the work you need to do with fresh eyes and new ideas. And if that means taking a month away from your blog, I believe the people who care about what you have to say will still be here to listen ... when you're ready to speak.

Thanks for listening, er, reading. And if the gauge on your vessel is getting near empty, take time to engage in what you love and start refilling it today.


How's the level on your vessel today? How do you refill? Do you feel guilty when you take a break to recharge? Please share your thoughts and observations in the Comments below.

P.S. to my writer friends: The long-overdue grammar/writing blog is now up. Please check out my first post.

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Write for the Fight: A kaleidoscope look at life — past, present and future

4/7/2012

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During the months of January and February, I was busy at work editing a book titled Write for the Fight: A Collection of Seasonal Essays. This kaleidoscope of essays is written by people from varied backgrounds with unique writing styles and perspectives on life. The book takes a look at the seasons of life: looking back at age 5; having a little talk with your 20-year-old self; considering what's left on your bucket list; and looking ahead to your 80th birthday. 

For me, the work of editing the book was a wonderful tour of the life experiences and imaginations of some creative, insightful and entertaining minds. Each writer in this anthology approaches the spring, summer, fall and winter of their life with their own distinct voice. Some of the essays are heartwarming, while others are poignant. Some are downright hilarious. From the touching words and phrasing of Galit Breen to the poignant reflections of Tess Hardwick, Write for the Fight is a collection of stories that will touch your heart and tickle your funny bone. Here are some tidbits to tease you...


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I am an autumn leaf, somewhere between before and after. This is my now, with work to do and love to reap and sow before I land gently on the ground to merge with the earth as I meet the source, my Maker. ~ Tess Hardwick, reflecting on her life's to-do list

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Tess Hardwick
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I sit snuggled between so many pieces of my heart, bare to the world but bungee-corded to me. My pieces are lost in their movie. Another world, another time, a slice of someone else’s magic. They fight their heavy eyelids, breathing in sweet, deep sighs that only children give in to. Yes, there could have been writing and Facebook and Twitter. But instead, there were snuggles and magic and breathing. ~ Galit Breen, on life and what's yet to come

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Galit Breen
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I dearly miss that 5-year-old child who begged, bargained and blackmailed for a reward no grander than the simple delight of a few more moments of consciousness to soak in life’s sights and sounds. All I wanted was a temporary reprieve to read one more story, drink one more glass of milk or satisfy myself that Laura, Mary and baby Carrie would survive whatever peril they encountered that week on the prairie.  ~ Laura Kilmartin, on not wanting to go to bed at age 5
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Laura Kilmartin

But don't take my word for it. Reviewers at Barnes & Noble have given Write For the Fight overwhelmingly positive reviews, like this one:

A delightful read that keeps you coming back for more. So fun and interesting moving through the seasons with these writers and their stories. Rarely can a book be this reflective, thought provoking, funny and sentimental. ~ Reviewer Becky Lower

As you travel through the seasons of life with these diverse writers, you will laugh, cry, smile and perhaps feel a bit pensive. Viewing life through their eyes, you will experience a roller coaster of emotions and find yourself pondering the seasons of your own life — I believe in a positive way. 

As I took that journey, I found myself looking inward and outward, reflecting on the past and considering the future. Overall, the introspection left me feeling satisfied with where I've been, where I am and where I'm going. Sure, there have been mistakes along the way, but that's part of the learning experience that IS life. It hasn't been perfect, but it has been a wonderful, crazy ride filled with people and places that have touched my life in meaningful ways. While I can clearly see the past, the future is not yet written. It's like a book I've yet to pen, with chapters not yet finished. While I'll have to wait and see what happens as those pages unfold, this book left me with a sense of peace about the past, the present and the future.

Write For the Fight is currently available in Nook and Kindle versions (both priced at $4.99) and will be released on iTunes later this month. A paperback version is set for release on April 30 at both Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The co-authors (Tess Hardwick and Tracey Hansen) and contributors are donating their proceeds to support research to find a cure for breast cancer, a disease they all feel drawn to fight. And so they write. And ask others to write. 

And, now, we ask you to read.

Comments are welcome and always appreciated. Please feel free to share your thoughts below.

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    DIANE HUGHES

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