Finding Yourself

I remember hearing a young man say, "I can't do that until I find myself." I thought that was an odd statement. Find himself? But as I continue down this path of living I think I know what he meant. At first I thought he was just dodging responsibility but now I think we all find ourselves at various times in our lives. Each year we live brings new frontiers and pushes old ventures away, sometimes so far away that they are no longer parts of our lives. We're finding new phases of this life God has provided for us.

Even now I've found a new frontier. I've been a writer most of my life. Unfortunately, not much of it found it's way to paper for much too long. But, when I got started—Wow! I've written and published eleven books and created more poetry and short stories than I can count. Most of the poems and short stories are lost because I didn't think they were worth saving. I've since learned otherwise and rued that original thought.

But, on to the new frontier I've recently landed upon. A couple of months ago I received a call from a dear friend, also a wonderful author, asking me to consider editing a book she was ghost writing. The offer include a nice compensation. For a long time I've been writing, learning about writing and taking part in all phases of writing. For some thirteen years I've been a part of and chaired a writer's critique group. Along the way, other writers I have met have asked me to 'help' edit their work and I did, not for money but to help. I've been asked to teach creative writing at the local community college and in preparing for these activities I've studied and learned, mostly for my own edification, but also to share with other writers. You see, I feel so blessed to have made this obscure dream of writing come true that I have to give back in whatever way I can.

In doing the editing and providing an editorial review I, again, learned a lot while doing what I love. It was an engrossing job that took many hours. But part of this new frontier is another request for an editing job. This past week another author, a past student of mine contacted me about editing her latest book. A frontier I never expected but I'm enjoying!

I've always said, echoing my father, never say never and when something comes up and it looks interesting or challenging to you—grab on to it and have fun. I'm really looking forward to editing this new book. Maybe I've found another 'self' along with a new frontier.