When I was four months pregnant with baby Blake (who at almost 10 months and 24 lbs is probably ready for a new nickname) I attended a book writing workshop in California. I blogged about the experience:

The opportunity to fly cross-country to attend the workshop fell into my lap. It stood there staring at me, all doors open, not one roadblock in sight. We even had Sky Miles to pay for my flight! News about the workshop appeared just hours after I had gotten really honest with myself. I was on the phone with my mom one morning, and I told her, “I need to do this (write). I want to do this. But I’m scared. I’m afraid of opening the box. I’m afraid of getting lost in my thoughts.” What will happen if I finally did what my soul has been calling me to do all along?

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Those who follow me on Facebook know that I recently traveled to California for a two-day writing workshop. I can’t thank my dear friend and colleague, Denise Turner, enough for mentioning the workshop on her blog. It got my attention immediately. The workshop creator is a genius, coming up with a clever name that I just couldn’t resist. Are you ready?

Write the Damn Book.

Isn’t that great? Those who know me understand that my blog is clean, and I never use “cuss” words. But I figured if Rhett Butler can say it, why can’t I? Besides, the brains behind the workshop, Mary Reynolds Thompson, is one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever met. I had been procrastinating, thinking of a million reasons to delay what I have been talking about for years. She made it really simple. Just write the damn book.

Sometimes things are meant to be. The opportunity to fly cross-country to attend the workshop fell into my lap. It stood there staring at me, all doors open, not one roadblock in sight. We even had Sky Miles to pay for my flight! News about the workshop appeared just hours after I had gotten really honest with myself. I was on the phone with my mom one morning, and I told her, “I need to do this (write). I want to do this. But I’m scared. I’m afraid of opening the box. I’m afraid of getting lost in my thoughts.” What will happen if I finally did what my soul has been calling me to do all along?

And with that honesty, I got my answer. Write the damn book.

At the workshop, I experienced one of those rare moments when everything turns out exactly as I had hoped it would… and it was even better! There was such a profound connection between this group of twelve strangers; we each had creative breakthroughs and accomplished some amazing work during our time together.

I don’t know how long it will take, or exactly where this journey will lead, but you have my commitment that I’m am now, once and for all– you guessed it, writing the damn book.

There. I’ve said it out loud.

I hope this inspires you in some way to begin the thing you’ve been putting off. If your soul is speaking to you– don’t stress, don’t over analyze, don’t worry about how it’s going to work out. Just begin. I leave you with this poem by Mary Oliver our instructor shared with the class:

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice
–though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do
–determined to save
the only life you could save.

~ Mary Oliver ~ (Dream Work)