Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style

Looking For Inspiration Today?

What inspired you today? Week Four prompt for Welcome to my Reality.

I have spent much of my morning reading - yes, I should be doing report cards but first this and that will come later.

What was I reading, you may ask? I dipped into Theo Pauline Nestor's book Writing Is My Drink: A Writer's Story of Finding Her Voice (and a Guide to How you can too). On the cover is a quote from Gretchen Rubin, the author of The Happiness Project, and she says that Nestor's book is "The new Bird by Bird for the vast group of people looking for guidance and inspiration as they tackle their dream of being a writer."

When I picked up this book in the little independent bookstore I love downtown, I was not immediately pulled in. The cover has an empty martini glass on it, but the olive has computer keys bracketing it on the toothpick that leans into the glass. Picking it up and paging through it, I came to the understanding that here was a woman whose own mother had been an alcoholic, but in her own 'addictions' she has turned to writing. That intrigued me, so I decided I would buy the book - if anything, I would be supporting the independent bookstore.

Since beginning it, I have been engulfed by inspiration. I can see reflections of my own past life. I remember those flashes of my own life; my own moments of feeling like a fraud. When she writes "I could never connect my academic achievements and my intelligence. Every success seemed like a fluke" I felt a connection, as I had experienced that, too.

Further reading revealed more such connections and though I did not grow up with an alcoholic, single mother. I did grow up with a 'emotionally damaged' single mother who was doing the best she could at the time. Like Nestor, I had a supportive Grandmother, but unlike her, I had mine all my life. Yes, I did move away from her weekly attentive visits, but she was close and came to live with us through the winter months. So I was lucky. That Grandmother, who I lovingly called Gramzie, was unconditional love at its finest and because of her love I was able to spread my wings.... eventually.

Nestor talks about how much she learned at her grandmother's place as a child, then unlearned as a twenty - something and then, as she matured, came back to those lessons realizing the messages that had been given. I am at that age now and I can appreciate the lessons and the love my Gramzie bestowed on me.

Reading this book, I feel myself open to the inspiration and at this time of year, I need help to pull myself out of the winter blahs. Nestor has helped with that. I would most definitely recommend this book.

I also find it cool that she was one of the waitresses, in her early twenties, that served Natalie Goldberg at a Santa Fe café probably around the time that Goldberg was writing and working on Writing Down The Bones - another book and author I love.
The connections are there - we just do not always see them until later.

I am open to inspiration today - It probably helps that I have the day to work from home - I am supposed to be writing report cards, but I am procrastinating. I do expect to work on them....but it will be later, after I have enjoyed a day of writing and reviewing for my course I am involved in at this time.

Happy day to you and may you find your own inspiration today.