Amy M. Schaefer
  • Amy M. Schaefer, Writer
  • Blog: From the Front Porch
  • Novels
  • Short Stories
    • Children's Books
  • About the Author
  • Contact
  • Photo & Art Gallery

From the Front Porch

I am an "accidental blogger". When I launched my writing career in March of 2014, one of the things that I decided to include was my journaling, which I have always found to be a comforting and therapeutic endeavor.  It was a big risk to open myself up in such a public forum, but it has taught me that, for the most part, we share far more experiences than we think. It's comforting to know I'm not alone!  (*the "Button Text" is the link to my first novel)
Button Text

Step, Step, Fall--Step, Step, FLY

6/30/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
"Change is the essence of life; be willing to surrender who you are, for what you could become." --Anonymous

The first steps towards anything are almost always the most difficult. I remember watching my daughters go from crawling to walking--grab on to something sturdy, pull yourself up, hold yourself steady and test out this new way of getting around, upright, on two legs! Lots of falling down, trying again, and eventually those little legs move from an unsteady gait into full-on running--usually in search of the next "big" thing.

It is a great metaphor for how we approach life--choosing or changing a career, moving to a new location, making friends...all of these are difficult for me. I'm not good with change. It makes me uncomfortable, discombobulated, and there are always those doubts in my mind: "What if I make a mistake?"; "What if I can't cut it?"; "What if I'm not good enough, or just not enough?". One of the joys of being in my forties is that those doubts are more like an annoying whisper in my ear, as opposed to the bellowing roar they were in my youth. Through life-experience, I have also learned that change is good for me. I know people who get stuck...stuck in one kind of rut or another and stay there indefinitely. Heck, I've been a guest of those ruts before, too. Staying in them is much easier and more familiar than pulling yourself OUT. We sit and complain about the things we hate, the things we wish for, from the safety of our little rut, and never have to exert the energy to take the risk of changing it; and it IS a risk.

For me, probably for many, this is an extremely unhealthy way to live, so when I find myself in that place, static, unchanging, getting out of it as painlessly as possible is essential! I laugh at typing, seeing that word, "painlessly", because so often change comes with its share of hurts.
I couldn't have recovered from some of those hurts that were so intense they blinded me and brought me to my knees, had it not been for the "sturdy things" I had to hold on to, people in my life who've steadfastly stood by me, holding on through every storm, any fall. They held me until I was steady again, until I got back up and kept walking...and now look at me learning to fly!

*Image from sheknows.com.


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    About The Author

    I grew up in rural North Carolina. When I was only nineteen, I moved away and became a military wife. My only aspiration at that tender time in my life was to create an adult life that "fixed" all of the "injustices" of my childhood. Secretly, however, I wanted to reach for the sky! I wanted to be a writer and find ways to "save the world" (my mother used to say, "You have Save the World Syndrome".). Mostly, I wanted to matter.

    Since then, I have learned to reach well beyond what I ever dared to think was possible. I've learned not to allow fear to stop me from whatever future I want to create!

    What keeps me grounded? My Tribe! What provides the wind beneath my wings? A well of reserves filled with unstoppable passion!

    Archives

    August 2021
    March 2020
    August 2019
    June 2019
    March 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    Categories
    A View From the Hill: Short Stories by Mattie Hill Shields

    All

    Button Text

    RSS Feed

    View my profile on LinkedIn
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Amy M. Schaefer, Writer
  • Blog: From the Front Porch
  • Novels
  • Short Stories
    • Children's Books
  • About the Author
  • Contact
  • Photo & Art Gallery