I have a plug-in on my site that automatically searches for somehow-related blog entries and then lists them at the bottom of each post in the hopes that you will read even more. (Look! You can scroll down right now and see what I’m talking about!) A few days ago I wrote a post and then, a few hours later, had an amazing writer herself tweet about one of the related posts. Here was the Twitter traffic:
Kelly: Prophet as Female by @ronnadetrick. Faith and feminism. http://ow.ly/RPMO
me: @KellyDiels Wow! I wrote that post in 2006! Thought has evolved much since then, but SO good 2 hear my own voice-& have it read anew. Thx!
Kelly: @RonnaDetrick liked it a lot. I noticed it was from 2006, too. You are sitting on a mountain of content that is begging to be a book.
Her statement got me to thinking (yes, it’s true: I think about THE BOOK all the time) about mountains.
How big and daunting they can seem.
How some people like to climb them (I’m definitely not one).
How faith has been said to be able to be able to make mountains move.
How mountains can either be boundaries and blockades or beautiful scenery.
How another virtual friend sent me a quote (below) about women and mountains that nearly made me weep.
How many mountains I can see on a clear day in the Pacific Northwest.
How I’ve used mountains of words to bury my feelings.
And yes, how I’ve written mountains of words that are begging to be a book.
What I’m most aware of is that I’ve let mountains become prohibiters vs. opportunities. The mountain has moved (interesting I used that phrase…) from being a descriptor of all I’ve accomplished (“mountains of words that are begging to be a book”) to becoming the definer of all I cannot do. Where is faith in that? Where is my passion? Where is my undaunted, leap-tall-mountains (vs. buildings)-in-a-single-bound mentality (also offered to me by my friend Kelly)?
I need to be moving mountains – literally! I need to be moving the mountains of writing (5+ years worth), already created and crafted, into categories, form, and product! Despite my relative state of mental/emotional health, I need to move mountains of self-doubt that keep me from believing those mountains of writing are worth being read. I need to sing Diana Ross (or Aretha has a version I like, as well) at the top of my lungs:
Ain’t no mountain high enough
Ain’t no valley low enough
Ain’t no river wide enough
To keep me from you*
*That “you” means so many things; so many things I feel like the “mountain” keeps me from: publishing, self-confidence, bold and brassy determination, dreams, love, hope, desire. Don’t get me started! I’ve got to move the damn things!
Mountains are not a bad thing. They are beautiful. They are rich with resources. They are strong. I need to let the same be true about my mountains of written words: beautiful, rich with resources, strong. I need to let the same be true about me: beautiful, rich with resources, strong. (And may I say? You need to do so, as well!!!)
I need to be moving mountains!
You need to be moving mountains!
Not surprisingly, but beautifully poignant, this is yet another returning and beckoning to faith, to “feminism,” to believing that my truth is worth being told.
We are volcanoes. When we women offer our experience as our truth, as human truth, all the maps change. There are new mountains.
(Ursula K. LeGuin)
New mountains yet to climb. Not daunting, but invigorating, encouraging, exhilarating! And the view from the top? I’m yet to see it, but I hear it’s incredible!
The mountains are calling and I must go.
(John Muir)
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, Ronna – yes. I love how you spin a mountain on its axis so we can see that some mountains are beautiful, not just in our way. Climb, lady, climb – I’m watching, inspired, from here.
.-= Lindsey´s last blog ..Present Tense with Taylor Wells =-.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing this.
I found your blog only days ago and have not yet made the time to go back and look through your treasure trove of older posts.
I am inspired to do so. I am just loving your style. So honest and with that bit of ache that we can relate to.
.-= Claire´s last blog ..Measurable and Observable (and chocolate chips) =-.
So grateful for your words, Claire…and that mine have an impact. Love knowing you’ll read more as I continue to write more!
whether in a blog, a book or a twitter stream, I’ll read! A gift like yours means one thing: write write write!
Such a gift to me, Ingrid. Thank you! And I’m getting closer all the time (to the book) while I keep on in every other context imaginable! Glad you’ve “found” me and are in the conversation with me.