"Jump in the water and find your way around"

As we embark on a new year, many of us have been busy setting goals and new year's resolutions, wanting to leave behind the stresses and difficulties of 2009, and achieve our hearts' desires in this new year, and new decade. I am pondering my goals, and what I want to achieve this year, and feeling overwhelmed at the enormity of some of the tasks I have created for myself. As I reflect, I am brought back to a conversation I had last year that changed my life.

I was at my aunt's place for dinner. She cooked Sri Lankan food, which is always a treat for me: yellow rice, beef curry, potatoes - a spicy food lover's heaven. She had houseguests staying with her - a long-time friend from Sri Lanka, and his wife. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my aunt's friend was a published writer.

Books, short stories, articles, academic papers - this man had done it all. I was inspired and awed by all he had accomplished, and naturally, our conversation turned to writing. I shared with him that I've always wanted to write fiction, and that I was taking a creative writing course at a local community college, which I was loving.

He looked up at me, smiled, and replied: "No-one can teach you creative writing. You have to just jump in the water and find your way around." I gasped quietly, dumbfounded by his profound words. Their lesson was simple, yet I was struck by their wisdom. Time after time, I had made writing more difficult for myself than I needed to. All I needed to do was show up at the page and see what happened.


As we begin a new year, I am reminded of his words, and am newly inspired to not worry about technique, whether something is worthy of being published, or even half-good, I just need to write. Or work out more. Or eat healthier. I can apply his words to all of my goals. And that is my new year's wish for all of you, that whatever dreams you have, that you just "jump in the water and find your way around."

Happy New Year,
Tina