mantra

from etsy

My friend Libby, over at the Blue Rose Girls blog, recently asked what quote you have over your desk to inspire your work. This made me pause because I haven't been at my desk in a while. Ever since Rain Dragon has arrived, the studio has been abandoned. While I know this is temporary, it does make me nervous. With Starry River of the Sky coming out in the fall, I worry that I won't be able to give it the promotional attention it needs to make it successful. And on an even greater scale, I worry that taking all this time off makes me fall behind somehow, that  what I've worked to build career-wise will now deteriorate.

But whenever I get too anxious, I try to remind myself that all the little things that I am doing-- from burping the baby to changing diapers-- are the pebbles that are building my family and are just as important as giving a speech a hundred people. These are the moments that make life.  And during an existence which finite, this is the time, this life is what is most important.

Of course, that is not easy to remember-- especially at 3 in the morning with a fussy baby! So, I do have a quote that inspires me but it's not above my desk. I play it on repeat in my head whenever I feel restless. I tell myself Live your Life.  Live your life.  Live your Life.

And so I try, with poopie diapers and all.