Welcome to IWSG Day. The goal of this blog hop is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a haven for insecure writers of all kinds. IWSG is the brainchild of our ninja leader Alex Cavanaugh.
I am delighted to co-host IWSG this month with Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, Tara Tyler, and Natalie Aguirre!
December’s optional question - As a writer, what was one of the coolest/best gifts you ever received?
Not all gifts are material, and the one for which I feel most
grateful is the gift of awareness.
It began when I started this blog and challenged myself to
write a post five days a week. That could have become boring, or at the very
least a struggle, so in trying to furnish myself with subject matter I spent a lot of time walking
with a camera, noticing things I’d never had time to appreciate before. Pretty soon I had images—storm clouds reflecting off a still harbor, herons and egrets stick-walking
through the marsh grass, lobster boats laboring in with their catch. After a while, it didn't matter if I took a photo. I learned that winter sunsets are stunning, but it's the subtle color that displays in the east just as the sun goes down that touches the soul. I drank in views of the city across the bay from a park I’d never walked before, visited secret
gardens and strolled a World War II munitions depot the state turned into
walking paths. I discovered a lighthouse on a spit of land where, if timed right, it's possible to watch the sunrise and turn around and to watch the moon set in the same minute. My walks took me through museums, graveyards, antique stores and old
homesteads. Each of these things delivered a sense of uniqueness and wonder as well as a profound
feeling of good fortune for the beauty and history that surrounds me.
The habit of noticing stays strong in me. Even now as I walk the same route most mornings, things are different than the day before. Beauty is ever changing,
ever evolving. How lucky am I that awareness arrived with a two-for-one bonus gift of ongoing appreciation.
As a writer, what has been your favorite gift?
