Where did it come from?

You ask me where do my words and inspiration come from and I tell you they come from my heart. The moment I feel free to express what lies within without masking a thing, words flow like a river. Feelings, emotions, memories and dreams ignate the landscape I love to walk on as I begin to write. That’s the way our life should be, sincere and spontaneous. We tend to hide behind walls to protect ourselves, pretend we are someone we are not, look for acceptance and wait for approval. Nobody can be real after all of these actions, we need to let others know who we are and live in our God given uniqueness which is our treasure to share with the world.

To you who read my words, who share your thoughts, who let me know how my words stir your mind and soul, I thank you. It is in that interchange that I feel more confident to express what lies within my soul and you somehow identify with me. It’s the unbelievable gift of words that makes relationship flourish and expand our horizons. Our intellect continues to grow, reach and touch as we move along our life and into the life of others. I thank you for visiting me in my blog, reading my books and for welcoming me as a guest as well. There is no greater honor than to be ushered into one’s life even if for a brief moment because when two souls cross path they are forever changed by the experience.

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Clary Lopez, author of Simplicity, Richness of Life

Reading Between the Lines

One of the best things a writer experiences is listening to what their readers have to say about their writing, sometimes it is what’s between the lines what impress them the most. I’m surprised when someone can clearly do so and extract the sentiment in which the words came out to the surface. Words are a true channel for us to connect to another soul, is transcendent and lasting sometimes able to help others make decisions or changes in their life.

When I write it’s not my intention to make anyone do anything. To me is my way to bring from within what yearns to come out to the surface in my own life. It’s a chance to evaluate, to know and to grow as a human being. I try to understand myself, my life, my purpose on this planet and while doing so share the journey with whoever wants to come along. I love to be around family and friends but at the same time I treasure the time I use to read, reflect and then write.

Lately I’ve been reflecting on life and the shortness of it, maybe because I’m watching the two people I love the most deteriorate before my eyes without being able to do a thing about it. So I look at my life and -uncertained of how much longer I may have- sometimes I get anxious. When I’m gone only my words and the impression of those who have known me will be left, good or bad.

So to all my readers, especially those who take the time to let me know what my words mean to them, thank you. It’s the interaction on places like these where ideas continue to grow within and I look forward to share even more as time goes by.

With You in My Mind

To you, who read my words:

Writing is a gift, one I treasure each and every day, without it I would be completely lost. There are many ways to express what lies deep within our heart and soul and words to me are the most powerful of all. Looking deep I see a big castle with many, many rooms, in each one of them there is a little piece of me a facet of some kind. I go in a differernt room each time and in some of them I find you, unable to vocalize what’s in your heart so I go out and write it down for you, it’s my gift to you. Perhaps you are better expressing with actions what lies deep within your heart and that’s okay, but I want to forever leave the words sprinkled on my path so that others know what was in my heart.

I carry you around and look for ways to help you out, there is nothing I can do but to let you know I listen to your heart. If you are in darkness I want to bring you light and if you are sad I want to bring you hope and happiness. When you take the time to share with me your thoughts I pick jewels out of them and place them in my treasure box. I go there from time to time and then create the most beautiful writing pieces because they have a little of you and me. I can’t create a thing without you, because it is with you in my mind that I get inspired to go beyond the physical realm and reach across the cosmos to touch your soul and I hope I do. Thank you for reading my words…

Fighting Back

The last six months have been terribly difficult for me, there are things in life that comes out of nowhere and you need to deal with them. Even though I try to not to let the material world affect me unfortunately it does. Pressures, worries and disagreements disturbs the strongest souls. I’m trying to stay come and optimistic but as the time goes by it gets worst. There is an urgency to create a change in order to bring balance into a stage in life that cries out for renewal. Nothing stays the same, we are continually evolving and growing mentally and spiritually.

Yesterday I had to reaffirm what I believe is my calling and fight back. Some people see in others certain talents and for some reason try to make it something different than what it was meant to be. The gift of writing can be used in numerous way, I recognize mine to be an inspirational & nonfiction writer. Dreams and goals sometimes take a long time to become a reality but I’m ready for the wait. I can’t do anything else but my heart’s desire. I’m reminded of the internal struggle one can live in for not being strong enough to stay on “truthful ground”, to go with the flow of life ignoring internal promptings and warnings that we are settling for something that will provide what we want instead of what we need. I will stay strong on my belief that I’m responding to my calling and that I must stay on the path I’m on in order to fulfill my mission, if I don’t I will regret it.

It hurts not to have the ones who are closer to you on your side but ultimately it is up to me alone, I must remember that.

Feeling Satisfaction

This morning I went about my daily routine of checking e-mails, blogs and websites. There was a book revision I finished late last night and it was time to get it out of the way. I’m pleasantly satisfied with the book and how it turned out. It’s the first one I publish for someone else. Then later on I checked my e-mail again and it was the author sending me some pictures with his book on hand, his radiant smile moved my heart. This is something that he couldn’t imagine in his wildest dreams, but that I had to make it happen because of his talent and most of all for his family.

Opening your mind and letting the words from your soul spill unto the pages of your work has a tremendous value. To me is the ultimate journey in connecting to everyone around us. The writing could be anything you want; non-fiction, fiction, poetry, play, movie script, lyrics, etc. it all has its way to reach those intended to receive it. The main thing is not to take with you that which is longing to emerge. It is in that creative flow that we get to know ourselves as we write, it’s almost a magical experience when the words somehow move someone’s spirit deep within. I can’t explain it but if I don’t see the words appear on my notebook or the blank screen of my computer I feel like a volcano close to erupt.

I think I feel the same -if not more- satisfaction to read other people’s work and not to mention to be able to help someone else birth that long awaited book. A book that was part of someone’s soul for so long and that yearned to be born into this reality realm in order to touch and transform those who read it. To awake thoughts, ideas, emotions in its readers. To leave a legacy behind.

Right now I’m working in the last details of this book launch, so stay tuned for when the big reveal takes place.

Drawing Inspiration

Nature is number one on my list of places from where I draw my writing inspirations, my life, people and art is another. When you are a writer you learn to become aware of little inspiration triggers that will make it easier when you sit down in front of a blank screen.

Here is a picture I took at Lake Tahoe, the couple of days I spent there where filled with beautiful views and wonderful weather. It was starting to cool down already and it reached the 27 degrees at night. It was quite a drastic change from the heat in Arizona just hours before. Thank God I was prepared for anything and brought my winter jacket.

It was a shame I didn’t have much time to write while I traveled but I armed myself with my camera, took a ton of pictures and picked up a lot of area brochures which I’m looking at whenever I have quiet time to write. Between the two I’m sure some good articles and blog entries is going to flow (I hope).

What do you use to get inspired and write? Do you write on a daily basis?

Comments:

I think, think and think and the day comes, when I explode through pen.So not a frequent writer.

Lovely post.

Tuesday October 10, 2006 - 01:00am (PKT)
Steve… Offline IM Yes, nature inspires me as well, but also little things like interactions between people, maybe a story of unselfishness or courage, beauty in nature of the spirit and soul of a person. Others writers also inspire me as well.

Monday October 9, 2006 - 03:07pm (CDT)
Inesta Offline Love, always love, I’ll check my blogs to see if I have one that is not driven by something about love…

Monday October 9, 2006 - 04:15pm (EDT)
Inesta Offline Yep, I went to check and all of my inspired-writings are driven somehow by love : )

Monday October 9, 2006 - 04:48pm (EDT)
Txcha… Offline IM Watching movies…documentaries, movies with narrators telling a story, other blogs of others experiencing real life, knowing that I’ve maybe experienced something similar and why not write my story. Sometimes just by daydreaming of past experiences or just thoughts of people and thier lives. I’ve only begun to write, but thus far…these are my inspirations. Sometimes ideas come in dreams or while I’m just laying in bed, but then after I attempt to write the thoughts I had…gone. So, I’ve decided to keep a small recorder with me.

Monday October 9, 2006 - 03:50pm (CDT)
Docto… Offline I don’t think there’s a sole source for inspiration, at least it shouldn’t be. Nature, animals, people, emotions and events can all inspire one should they “absorb” the experience. Writing is less about what “is” and more about what it is you see.

Very nice photos!

The Doctor

Monday October 9, 2006 - 08:22pm (EDT)
Miche… Offline Beautiful picture!

As for me, EVERYTHING inspires me to write. I can be driving down the street and ideas for stories just pop into my head - or an idea for a blog post - or just a few lines that I know might lead to something big… it’s one of those things, writing is just ingrained into who I am…

Monday October 9, 2006 - 08:12pm (CDT)
ƹllɇṙɏ Offline For me it could be anything and everywhere so thats why I carry with me a notebook. Sometimes when I’m driving in the highway and have a inspiration stroke I pull over grab a napking from my glove comparment and start writing everything down then when I get home finish it cuz sometimes when is gone is gone and never come back the same. I do write daily! I like ur blog I can relate with you! take care!

Tuesday October 10, 2006 - 05:38am (EDT)
vj360° Offline IM well…looking at those headless trees i think of myself. my shabby life and everything….ohh such a depressing scenary….i am running…thats better i think

Wednesday October 11, 2006 - 05:32am (IST)

Old World Flavor

I’m attracted to old word architecture and its charm. One of my dreams is to one day travel to Europe. Among the countries I would love to see are: Italy, Spain, Greece and Ireland.

In redesigning this blog I selected one of my pictures of Old San Juan. I grew up looking at beautiful Spanish architecture and my high school dance was in Casa de Espana. Its old world charm transported me to places designed in a much simpler but elegant times. It was a time in which beauty was desired and the buildings and houses were constructed with a lot more details than today. The bright colors of the buildings are a reminder of living in a tropical island and the pace is faster than in the United States.

Restaurants built with this old world flavor are an automatic attraction to me. As soon as you walk in you can smell the different spices used in their simple but tasty dishes and the service tend to be superb. They tend to be a little expensive but they are great for a special occasion.

What kind of places and architecture do you enjoy?

Finding My Voice

I got serious about writing eight years ago, before that writing was just a way to stay alive. I wrote in journals for the most part in order to sort my emotions and ideas. There comes a time in every writer’s life when the need to share their work with world is scary. We worry if the readers will accept or not what we have to share with them. For the longest time I thought who cares about the struggles of young mom and wife as she raises her children. The reality was that many women were going through the same things I was. I met them at the store, at the gym, at church and at work. They all have the same goal in mind; to be a good mom and still do their job inside or outside the home.

Finding my voice has been a journey, I don’t quite know what it is I want to concentrate in. I have so many interests that to choose one is kind of confinding. As my life evolves I find myself with a great need to share the different facets of my personal journey. I’m not in one place for a very long time and I learn and grow with each challenge and trial, I guess this is why they call it growing pains. The categories my writing fall under the most are self-help, inspirational and memoir, but I really don’t feel either one of those describes my niche. If could create a whole new genre it would be Self Awareness, the art of being, I think that describes exactly what I try to do with my writing. It is the wonderings of our mind and as we explore our inner self that we become who we are and ultimately what we are meant to be. Nobody can do it or force it on us, this is a journey where we decide we are ready to begin.

So is this new genre something that can be feasible to me as a writer? I would like to think so because it encapsules everything that I’m going through and will carry me well into the future.

What Impacts a Writer

Life has a way to impact the writer’s writing. For good or bad the many occurrences of our daily lives affect that which we create or not according to our circumstances. Today it was a very hard day for me, even though I tried to see the light at the end of the tunnel I found myself in darkness most of the time. I tried to communicate to the best of my ability but my words fell on deaf ears most of the time. I have my fleeting moments of joy that vanishes as quickly as they came.

Being a writer is a wonderful way to grasp whatever moments and translate them onto the pages of a notebook. It’s an excellent outlet to unload the feelings that rush within us sometimes without a notice. I’m thankful to be able to do this, to be able to read and write in two languages and to release some of the tension that lies inside me.

Transmitting Emotions

As an inspirational writer I have a wealth of topics I can develop only if I’m able to transmit emotions effectively. There is a common thread of circumstances and situations that readers can relate to and at the same time there is a good way to unload emotions you yourselft experience or those who you see people around you handle on a daily basis.

I’m sensitive and observe events and situations develop like in a movie. I try to get in touch with my feelings on a daily basis and see what is trying to teach me. Sometimes it screams, others I can hardly hear it but I feel it deep within my heart and soul; Pleasant, painful, joyful, sad, worried, desperate, it’s all fair play if I can develop it into something someone else can relate to.

I also read good inspirational books in order to perfect my writing and communicate my messages more effectively.

One thing that is difficult to handle is the thought that if you write about certain emotions your readers automatically would think it is you the one going through them when in reality we draw them from so many sources. In that respect sometimes the words don’t come out as fluent and sincerely as we want them to be. I’ve read a few books by famous writers who speak about this and how we need to forget about it and let it flow.

What would you like to read more in the inspirational genre? What key ingredients should it contain?