Drew Herron via Compfight

It’s been a few days since I posted My500Words output here on the ol’ blog. (In the interest of full disclosure, I have written most days during this challenge, but I haven’t considered all those words worthy or public enough to put up in this space.)

So here we are, almost halfway through the month, and I need to get some words up here. So here are some unrelated random thoughts that dropped out of my head on the way to somewhere else…

• Both of my side gigs seem to be running beyond their expiration date. When it’s not fun, and you don’t feel like you’re making a difference anymore, it may be a good indication a change is in order. The problem with that is the side gigs are making a difference in the financial picture. On one hand, it feels like you may need to move on or change up for your sanity’s sake. On the other hand, the stress of the missing income may be greater than the stress of the two side gigs. Either way, it’s not a good place to feel trapped by the necessity of staying with something that may not be as beneficial as it once was.
• I may be rethinking the whole paper and pencil thing. See, I’ve  been a big fan of the Moleskine notebook, the Black Warrior pencil, the Pink Pearl eraser, and the Staedtler barrel sharpener as long as I can remember. There’s just been something about the whole notebook thing. After all, Hemingway sat in the café in Paris, drinking, watching, and writing it all down in his blue-backed notebook. Lately, though, especially during this 500 Word Challenge, it has been easier to type than write. I’ve been using a variety of tools: Pages, Text Edit, Microsoft Word (for Windows and for Mac), and the native WordPress input screen. (Believe it or not, I’m partial to the simplicity of Text Edit on the iMac.)
• I was intimidated by the challenge of writing 500 words. But I’ve been surprised by how quickly the words pile up, once you put your fingers on the keys and start typing. (I’m at 363 right now.) The problem for me is I see the mistakes and the needed edits as I type, and it’s almost impossible to let them go until the end.
• The other problem is not having anything worthwhile to write. I know the other folks in this challenge have been patient and supportive and encouraging. I get that, and I appreciate that. Finding your voice, finding your subject, having something to say is a bigger deal than most people imagine!
• Finally, a little gnat bite from one of the side gigs this morning. When you say you have questions about why we’re open on New Year’s Day but closed on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, it’s not real hard to see what you really mean. Trust me, it’s not. It says a lot about your character and attitudes. You can smirk and shrug it off as you walk out of the building, but it’s evident.

OK…rant off, random brain drippings contained, over 500 words on the blog, and life is good!

This is the only Wednesday you’re going to get this week…make it count!

Virginia Guard Public Affairs via Compfight

(Today’s prompt for the My500Words challenge is: Tell someone else’s story.)

As a preacher, I tell Someone Else’s Story all the time. I don’t have anything worthwhile to say, but the Someone Else that I tell about has a lot to say! The issue is whether or not I’m telling that Someone Else’s Story in a way that He would approve.

On the other hand, there is another aspect to my life practice of telling someone else’s stories. When we tell someone else’s stories, we are limited because we know how those stories turned out. We know where the twists are. We are aware that what seemed to be crucial turning points when the stories were first told have become familiar and expected. Those turns have almost become clichés in many circles.

The other problem we have with telling someone else’s stories is that we become accustomed to thinking our stories should turn out like their stories did. If it worked that way for someone else, we reason, then it should work that way for me, too. We are often disappointed for we feel entitled to walking the paths that others have walked and ending up at the same destination.

If Someone Else fed the dejected prophet by miraculous means, then we expect He should do that for us, too. When the sick woman gets better immediately, we are troubled if our own disease doesn’t miraculously resolve. When the lions don’t have a snack, and when the fire doesn’t consume, we assume our experiences should reflect that reality. If struggles with illness, famine, and other dire circumstances turned out well for those others, then my struggles should have the same result.

And there’s the thing about telling someone else’s stories. While I have someone else’s stories to teach me principles and guide me to Someone Else’s truth, the fact is I’m me.

Myself.

With my own story.

I’m not someone else. I can’t exit my existence and live in someone else’s reality. I can’t walk the way they walked. I have to live my story. I have to face my struggle and look for Someone Else’s lessons in my circumstances.

The good news is that Someone Else – who has worked in someone else’s stories before – is still in business. Someone Else’s Story is ongoing, and I get the incredible opportunity to jump into The Story and write a line or two. Whitman wrote:

…the powerful play goes on, and and you may contribute a verse.

What verse will I write today? How will I contribute to the Story Someone Else is writing? Will my verse, my lines, be a worthy addition? Where will my story take me today?