Once again, things have grown eerily quiet on this blog. So much so, that I have to admit I’ll honestly be a bit surprised if any of you will even see this post. There’s a part of me that wants to apologize for the silence and promise to do better in the future, but I can’t quite bring myself to do it.
You see, I have been living this summer.
Now I can already see you all scratching your heads and smiling (oh so patiently) in my direction. “Well, of course you have been living, Gillian. We only like to watch shows about the walking dead. We don’t actually believe in them. Now run along like a good little author and keep the blog posts coming …”
Here’s the thing.
So much of our lives as writers are spent in our own heads. We walk around in a bit of a cloud—a story cloud, if you will. Our minds are wrapped up in characters who don’t truly exist, running lines of dialogue and conversations that will never happen. We traverse paths and wander lands that have never before been seen. We dream up life and death, hope and despair, challenge and adventure, victory and defeat.
It is little wonder that writers are notorious for absent-mindedly gazing off into nothingness, because that “nothingness” is filled with a world of adventures that no one else can see. Imagination is a beautiful thing.
But this summer, my friends, I lived.
For three months, I spent hours in the saddle working with an awesome wrangling team to teach kids about God and horses. I talked and laughed with kids and was reminded of just how precious they are in His sight. I watched students learning to live their faith day in and day out. I mourned loss and rejoiced in the community of a family that goes beyond simple blood-ties. And in the dark of the night, I bared my soul to the Maker beneath a crown of distant stars.
Each moment was a blessing, and each day was a gift.
In January, I wrote a post about how I couldn’t settle for just one word for this year but wanted to choose a thousand words instead. At the time, I had every intention of exploring that concept and writing posts about new, exciting words for the year as they came to me. Well, here we are, three quarters of the way through, and I am finally writing a post about a word. Have you guessed it yet?
Live.
Oh my friends, I want to live this year.
I mean truly live.
Live fully. Deeply. In the moment. Not just for the moment, because when all is said and done, that’s such a shallow way of living, and I wish to dive deep. To be wholly present in every moment of the day. To take it all in, breathe in slowly, and bask in the gift.
The world we live in is broken and hurting and twisted, and so often that’s all we can see. But it’s also incredibly beautiful. A breathtaking creation. Sometimes, I have to force myself to stop and look around. Not just to rush on in the hectic pace of the day to day, hurrying to get the next thing done and taking the wonders around me for granted.
If you ask me, we spend far too much time looking forward to the next moment of excitement, rather than being truly grateful for, or truly experiencing, the moment that we’re in.
I don’t want to do that anymore. For me, living in the moment might mean setting aside my phone and disconnecting from the online vortex that’s always trying to pull me in, so I can better connect with those around me. It might mean setting aside a good book (gasp!) so I can catch up with a friend and invest in their life. It might mean missing a blog post … or two … or several months’ worth … so I can engage more in the day to day, maybe have a chance to reach out to someone who is hurting.
And maybe even admitting this makes me a terrible author, but it might mean unplugging the writer side of my brain every now and then and emerging from the storyworld to live fully in my world for a time.
Time, my friends, is a valuable currency. There is no guarantee how much we have left. But rather than being frightened by that knowledge, I hope to use it to inspire me to live fully for Christ and invest in the things that will last, on the moments that impact my soul and the souls around me. I mean to spend my time well.
To live.
Will you join me in truly living this fall? Let’s be grateful for each day we have been given. Let’s enjoy each moment with all of the challenges, ugliness, grace, messiness, hope, sorrow and joy that come with it. Let’s live and live well.
Do you have any ideas for ways that you can live more fully invested this fall? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Deborah O'Carroll says
What a beautiful post and so true. A truth I often forget myself. What a wonderful reminder. Thank you for sharing. Here’s to truly living. ^_^
Gillian Bronte Adams says
I want to tape the word LIVE on my door so I have to see it everyday as I leave for work. Because I need that reminder!
Liv K. Fisher says
This is truly a wonderful post, and an excellent reminder for all of us! Thank you so much for sharing! <3
Clare Farrelly says
Oh yes, this is so true, and it looks like you have some spectacular views to Live in there too.
Rachelle O'neil says
Well, some of us are seeing it, at least. :D
This post really is such an encouragement to me. I tend to get too trapped by fears and frustations and what-ifs to fully enjoy life, and I regret that in the aftermath. God gives us moments, fleeting ones sometimes, and I think He wants to make them meaningful. But we have to be engaged for that to happen.
And, no, I don’t think that makes you a bad writer. I think that means you’re storing up real-life experiences to breathe depth into your writing. Just because writing is a gift doesn’t mean it should be obsessive. :)
This fall, I, too, want to truly live. For me, I think that means taking the time to make connections in my college classes and being deliberate about spending time with my family when I can. I don’t want the semester to go by in a blur of homework and missed opportunities. Thanks for the encouragement, Gillian.
Gillian Bronte Adams says
Wow. I’m amazed. You guys are awesome. :D
These words are so true: “Just because writing is a gift doesn’t mean it should be obsessive.” Of course deadlines come to play a bit in that, but I really want to be intentional about planning my time so I can be focused on writing when I need to without having to miss out on the opportunities that crop up to be engaged in life and with others. Hoping you have a wonderful time being connected this fall at college and with your family. Praying that goes well!
Tracey D. says
What a beautiful post, Gillian! And so timely, too. This year has been one of my busiest yet, and the introverted, homebody side of me is tired. As I start college this fall, things will only get more busy, not less, and I needed this reminder to LIVE. Truly live, no matter how busy the schedule or how long the to-do list. Funny how we think we’re too busy to live, or too exhausted, but it’s the *living* that breathes space into the day and energy into our souls. Bless this post, and bless you! <3
Gillian Bronte Adams says
So true! Oh you sweet thing, I’m praying that you have a truly wonderful start to your semester this fall. Let’s keep encouraging each other to LIVE!
Jordan Joyner says
This is amazing, Gillian! I really needed this. I mean to live more intentionally this fall by not letting the barriers I face distract me from what the Lord is doing in each of us. Thanks for the reminder and thanks for your insight.
Gillian Bronte Adams says
Jordan! Praying for you. I can’t wait to hear about everything you’ll experience this fall! The way you’re LIVING is such an inspiration.
Robert says
I like this a lot. :) I’ve been thinking about this very thing recently too. And what you said about trying to live in the real world sometimes and not just getting lost in one’s imagination? It doesn’t make you a terrible author for saying that. I think that makes us better writers. After all, a lot of what we write is our interpretations of reality, not a random wandering through someone’s imagination. And how can someone write what they mean to say without first having felt it? Inspired writing is only what comes from the abundance of life. :)
Elizabeth Russell says
Thank you so much for that, Gillian!
Looking back on this past summer, it’s been incredibly full. Without a doubt, the best part of it was when I worked at camp. I know that I told you a little about this already, but becoming a part of the FC staff family has been one of the greatest blessings that God has ever given me. This summer, that meant joining with others in pain as well as joy, but it’s stretched me in marvelous ways. And having more friends who really walk the talk has….well, “spurred me on to love and good deeds.”
Thank you for the reminder. I’ll need that reminder to keep on with my resolutions from this summer, to make time for what’s really important and not let school and to-do lists get in the way of living and growing – and asking God what he has for me in the years ahead.
Allison Ruvidich says
Love love love this. As for me, I have given myself permission to not write in college. (Unless I’m really dying to. Then I make an exception.) It kind of became a point of stress for me. I still am a writer, even when not writing. Isn’t living the best research, after all? : )
Ivy Rose says
Thank you sooooo much for this reminder! While this is my second semester of college, I’m still having to learn my way around school and a new job, while retaining some aspect of family life. And I feel like I’ve been terribly lacking in the family department. Thank you so much for this reminder that it’s okay to put “things” aside and focus on actions and/or relationships that will matter much more for eternity than the next blog post or Goodreads update. I so needed to hear this!! Thank you!!!
Hannah White says
This was such an inspiring post! Ahkjsdfsdfkjasd. I think writers more than anyone struggle with this. We get so caught up in everything that happens on paper, we forget to look around and truly see. See the sun and the clouds and the trees and the people. It’s so easy to tone out and forget to listen, because lets face it: the stories we make up are way more entertaining then our daily lives. The stories in our heads are full of action and adventure and danger. They’re thrilling. But our lives are real. Our lives are where we truly are, and we need to live them before the opportunity is gone.
Thank you so much for this post! <3
Victoria Marinov says
This is something that’s been very deeply on my heart as summer’s ended. I was slightly disappointed that I got very little writing done during the summer, I took a few weeks off of anything blogging, and I read very few books. But then I read a post very similar to this — about living. That living is the best we can do as writers. I have the trouble of living inside of my head too much, so it can be a challenge for me.
June was filled with wonderful, simple experiences and answered prayers, July was spent traveling in Europe and seeing a dream come true, and August was full of special moments with family and friends and just rest, soaking up in the glory of God’s world. Living is so truly important.
Elizabeth says
I hope that my comment posted! I submitted a comment a couple of weeks ago, and it has yet to appear… if it didn’t, I may try to duplicate it eventually, but the gist was that God has blessed me so much, and I love this post. Thanks, Gillian!
Haukinsdaughter says
“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”
~Albus Dumbledore
Gillian Bronte Adams says
Such a great quote! And a wonderful reminder for those of us who tend to chase so hard after our dreams.