Independence

July 4th; a day full of celebration, good food, parades and fireworks! I look forward to this particular holiday every year. In celebrating the birth of the nation I call home there's a complex mixture of honor, pride, sadness and grief when I think about all the progress won after much despair. Acknowledging the hardships our ancestors encountered in the fight for independence makes me look at my own life and the choices I've made.

One of the major reasons I look forward to the 4th of July this year is due to a self-imposed goal. I've been working on a novel that has provided me with much inspiration and a few difficulties along the year and a half journey so far. I've spent so many years starting writing projects that stemmed from an image or idea that wouldn't let go until I wrote it down. However, it was a rare situation indeed when I my initial inspiration led to a completed work. The novel I'm working on now started from a single image and has flourished into a piece of art that keeps my interest every day. Sure I've had my fair share of stuck moments when I couldn't figure out what my protagnist's motivation was or how to transition into the next chapter...but I've learned not to force the progress. What I've created so far holds too much value for me to rush it.

That being said, I am about 85% complete the first draft. There are just a few more tweaks to be done and transitions to input before I can send out the completed manuscript to friends and family for review. My self-imposed first draft completion date of July 4th, 2010 has motivated me each and every day to reach my goal. And reach it I shall!

So on this Independence Day I will be celebrating with family and friends while knowing that I have started along a path all my own; independently!

All the best,
Kelly

More or less

• I do not wish others less simply because I may have more.


• I do not wish unemployment on someone simply because I may be without a job.


• I do not wish a person who is well-off to lose money simply because I am struggling financially.


• I do not wish imprisionment on anyone simply because I long for freedom.


• I do not wish a woman to be childless simply because I have no children.


• I do not wish a healthy person to fall ill simply because I feel sick.


• I do not wish sorrow upon someone else simply because I may be grieving.


• I do not wish a joyful individual to know pain simply because I feel hurt.


• I do not wish heartache upon someone simply because I may be lonely.

Instead....

• I wish that all may know joy, compassion, forgiveness and most of all...love.


• That we, as individuals, start treating each other with more respect, kindness and understanding.


• That we all stop deflecting our worries, fears and issues upon those who do not share them.


• That we focus more on improving our own intellectual, emotional and spiritual needs while recognizing that everyone else is doing the same.

All the best!
Kelly