Slice 31: Night Covered The Road

Slice of Life 31: Night Covered the Road

Twilight……when the sun has played hard and shined bright but is tired and slowly sinking behind the horizon. I know you’re wondering at this point why Ralph Fletcher didn’t have me co-author Twilight Comes Twice with him, aren’t you? ☺

When I set out on this Slice of Life Journey, I didn’t realize my journey began at twilight. I wrote my little heart out for nine days (well, almost nine days… rule breaking a little and combining two slices into one here and there).
I was on a roll. In these 31 days, I was going to write and comment and learn from so many of you about your lives, your passions, your talents, your gifts. And I would cheer you on to keep writing. You wrote back and gave me encouragement. You gave me insight. You made me think. Your words gave me ideas. Your words made me smile. The writing journey had begun.

And then, the sun dropped behind the horizon and night covered my world. The darkness became so dark, so pitch black like tar I stopped dead in my tracks. Fear and sadness and self-doubt and hopelessness settled in, and it was all I could do to even turn the computer on to read work email that absolutely required a response.

The I have nothing to say…..It’s supposed to be perfect….People are counting on you to be smart and wise…No one will notice if you haven’t written….Who cares….Just get through the day…Those commanding voices filled the night air. Day poured tar into my soul and night suffocated me.

But sometimes in the dead of night, when you think all the world is fast asleep, there are friends out there who find you. Even though that friend’s eyes haven’t adjusted to the light, she senses your presence, sees your outline in the darkness, and points to the brightest star in the sky.

When you set out on a journey
And the night covers the road ahead,
That’s when you discover the stars.

I can’t promise that there will always be starry nights, but what I can do is love today and live it the best that I can. Thank you all for being inspirations, new and old friends, writing…and life-living mentors to me. Ruth and Stacey, even thought the journey didn’t play out as planned, thank you both for giving us all this opportunity to discover ourselves in the darkness and in the light.

Normal day, let me be aware
Of the treasure you are
Let me learn from you, love you
Bless you before you depart.
Let me not pass you by
In the quest of some
Rare and perfect tomorrow. –Mary Jean Irion

To the possibilities of this sunny day and the coming starry night,
AM