Create, Not Curate!

Today begins the journey to manifest me in 2014.

Yesterday, as I was browsing my email, reading blog posts and generally wasting a whole lot of time online, I ran across a young woman who had begun a year or more ago to write a poem a day. It was simply a practice she decided to add to her every day life, to slow her life down, to take time to notice the little things. In time it became so much more than that. Her poetry is clear and clean and beautiful, and it is now very much a part of her life.

At first I felt sad. Sad by all of the poetry that lies scribbled on worn out paper and long-lost notebooks. Sad that poetry swims in my head every day, many times a day, but never finds its way to paper. Sad that time has passed me by and too much of it has been looking outside of myself for myself, in so many little ways.

Then, it occurred to me that I have gotten into the habit of curating instead of creating. One can spend endless hours online circulating the brilliant posts of others, in my case, ostensibly to promote my website when in reality I’m promoting theirs. I was hiding. Afraid to let my own light shine. Afraid of trusting in my creative process.

It is time. Time for me to take the risk and shuck off all of my expectations, goals, fears and ambivalence, throw caution to the proverbial wind and commit to creating, not curating. To that end,  I have decided I too would begin today to write a poem a day. Not only that, I would write a blog a day, post a quote a day on Quotes By Women, and submit an already written piece somewhere for publication.

Am I biting off more than I can chew? Perhaps. But, today I am making a gallant effort. Though I did not intend it, this is my blog for the day. I awoke at 6 a.m., well ahead of my usual time (I am a night person) and wrote my poem: Midlife Mourning

I will be back to update this blog with my daily quote by a woman.

The last one will be the hardest, but I am determined!

Dorothy Sander 2014