As a writer I find it embarrassing that I was never an avid reader as a kid. I was much more interested in going outside. It didn’t really matter what I was doing, as long as it was outside. Mostly, I wandered. I looked at things, smelled flowers, tried to talk to the birds, and when I felt really brave, I would lift up a rock and see what I might find hiding underneath. I didn’t really become a recreational reader until I graduated from college.
Now, I love to read. I devour books. I snack on them, too. I dream about the stories I’m reading. As a writer, this is a little intimidating. With so many wonderful things to read, what could I possibly contribute? How could my stories ever compare with all the stories that have already been masterfully told?
I was thinking about these things and feeling overwhelmed by my own insignificance, when I decided to go outside. I looked at the vast Red Rock Canyon stretched out before me, I smelled the sage and the wild thistles blooming in the meadow, I chirped at the birds, and after a little while, I started to feel braver. I lifted a rock to see what I might find hiding underneath. There I found a great story, the one I haven’t written yet.
Hoping you find some time to go outside!
Love,
Bonnie Kelso is a Creativity Coach who uses Creating as a healing modality. She is the author of I Am Shaylee Seakin: Speaking My Truth an interactive coloring and story book for kids which helps them to articulate what is most important to them.
Shaylee is curious. Shaylee wants to understand how the world works. Shaylee is afraid of just one thing: being alone. Shaylee is not a mermaid.
Shaylee is a Seakin!
This is her “truth story” just as she sees it.
Bonnie Kelso 