Stick With It

One of my lovely daughters highly recommended a book that she was reading, so of course I promptly headed down to the local library and checked it out. She passed along the encouragement to "stick with it" as it took a bit of time to really get into. Approaching page 45, I kept wondering when that enjoyment was going to kick in, but I trusted her and kept reading. Finally, I literally turned from page 48 to 49 and the absolute delight took over. Over the last couple of years, every time I am in a good book, I have the desire to be the writer of such an enjoyable thing and not just the reader. Maybe someday. Perhaps writing here is a little bit of practice. Another delightful experience of recent was watching an animated movie The Illusionist. I spent some frustrating hours (actually off and on for 2 days!) wrestling with my ipad, itunes, laptop and tv, but I was determined to watch this movie, so I didn't give up. Watching the Academy Awards last spring, I saw a clip of it when it won an award and it's been on my "movies to watch" list ever since. Again, I had to stay with it just as required with the book, but well worth it as the beauty washed across the room and into my being.
As I write, I become aware of truth. I love that. The threads begin to weave together to reveal the piece of cloth or the sweater being knitted. Can you see it too? Experiences of delight don't always come easily or quickly. Could we include "happiness" or "success" or "fulfillment"? I can give up too easily, too quickly. I miss the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It's too far a walk to get there and it's just as pretty at this end.  Immediate satisfaction is what we're all after isn't it? But that seldom materializes unless we're talking about stepping outside for a moment of serenity as I often take advantage of in my backyard. We have to persevere, keep telling ourselves not to give up, believe in the reward to come at the end whatever form that may take or how long. Some of us relish in the journey; I happen to like getting there. So back to finding delight in a book this morning, a movie last night, both requiring some persistence (though really not that much in comparison to so many other things) to happen upon that deep sense of joy and contentment that for me comes from creativity. Will I be reminded of their lessons in persistence to encourage me tomorrow and the next day? I hope so. For now, I think I'll go find that book.