Clarity of Vision

You might be wondering where I disappeared to the past few months. Nothing is ever dull in my life, and the past year has been filled with more change than even I am used to. After a need for some downtime, I’m beginning to resurface.

Recently, I took a five-day road trip from Dallas, Texas to my home in Portland, Oregon. Eleven years ago, I had taken the same trip in the opposite direction. Many things have changed since then, but I realized on the road that one essential thing has not: I have a passion for adventure and discovery, for travel and new perspectives, for learning more about myself, no matter the means or the vehicle.

Writing is one such vehicle, and I haven’t been filling that tank much lately, although I teach my writing coaching clients to use the adventure of writing to discover their true self, to dive deep into their experience, find the pearls that define who they are, and bring a new perspective to the surface. Unfortunately, I had not been doing that for myself.

Just before the trip, I started to write on my long-awaited book, Stumbling Into Grace. In fact, I had been stumbling over what direction to take the book and had been working on the subtitle, thinking that would help me clarify my message. After I returned, I pulled out all of my old journals, looking for some creative juice.

Ironically, what I discovered was a common thread through many years: That I love road trips, adventure and discovery, and I love to write about those themes. What a surprise.

As I traveled down memory lane through my journals, I put some music on, choosing the first album I ever purchased, Cat Stevens’ Tea for the Tillerman.

The first song that came on was “On the Road to Find Out”. The lyrics described me to a “T”, from the first stanza… “Well I left my happy home to see what I could find out. I left my folk and friends with the aim to clear my mind out…” down to the final line… “…pick up, pick up a good book now…”

The universe had gently giving me a roadmap and was nudging me to finish the journey.

Stumbling Into Grace: On the Road to Find Out is the story of my journey to find the essence of living a grace-filled life, despite obstacles, wrong turns, and an occasional collision along the way.  I still have roads to travel, and more sights to see. I hope you’ll join me on the adventure.

I’ll be sharing my writing in this blog. I’d love to hear your feedback. Constructive comments are welcome!