On Saturday, I was reading in the Courier Mail Q Weekend Magazine - over a skinny vanilla latte, extra hot, half-strength on the syrup, thanks :) - about the latest results of a four-year US study that revealed meditation slows down the ageing process. Yes, you read that correctly - we no longer need botox, liposuction, and torturously-intense exercise regimes to keep us looking younger (although I'm sure these all help :) ).
    According to this study's results, Q Weekend reports, "by protecting caps called telomeres on the ends of our chromosomes, meditation might help delay the process of ageing".
    Sounds promising to me.
    Prayer has also been likened to meditation, but really, anything that reduces stress - from going for a long walk outdoors, to cuddling up with a good book, or sharing a laugh with friends or family - has got to be good for you.
    All this got me thinking about the hectic pace of our lives these days. Everywhere we turn, we're bombarded by increasing workloads and responsibilities, multi-tasking, Junior's soccer practice and huge homework assignment he needs help with, and updates on Twitter, Facebook, and email to check and respond to. Aaargh!
    Sometimes we just need to get off the merry-go-round of our crazy lives and take the time to simply 'be'.
    Which is why I decided not to attend the Bundaberg WriteFest 2011 on Saturday. I really wanted to go, especially as regional areas see very little of this sort of thing happening right on our doorsteps.
    But I just couldn't justify it. I guess it was a combination of not having caught up from a two-day work meeting down in Brisbane earlier in the week, us moving house in under two weeks' time (and no, I haven't even started packing yet!), plus the fact it clashed with the kids' soccer games and nap times (yes, I'm one of 'those' soccer mums now, lol!).
    It would have been great to attend and discover more about how to improve my writing craft, but I figure there's probably nothing new that I can't learn about from an online writing course or manual. There's so much information out there already, so missing out on a day-long conference isn't going to 'make or break' my fledgling writing career.
    But not having any time to actually write, will. So instead of learning about writing on Saturday, I took the time to actually do it, sitting down with my notebook and crafting another scene, while my eldest son kicked a soccer ball around a grassy field with seven other six- and seven-year-olds.
    Consequently, my schedule on Saturday felt just that teensy bit more manageable. Saying 'no' to something non-essential, even if it may seem worthwhile at the time, is one sure-fire way to slow down the pace of the crazy carousel of life.
    What's one thing - something that doesn't fit into your core values - that you can say 'no' to this week? There's a high chance that you'll stay looking younger for longer as a result. :)

    It's amazing what you can do when you set yourself a challenge. Or in my case, when someone else sets it for you. It's only two weeks into the May: You Write Your Novel Challenge, and already I'm totally surprised (shocked, actually) by my ability to focus and persevere. Even when I have an evening work meeting and don't get home until 8:30pm. Or even worse, when I have a houseful of vomiting children (that was a fun couple of days - NOT!).
     True, my sleep is now suffering in a big way, as writing sessions 'til midnight are scarily becoming the norm. At this rate, I may get my manuscript completed in record time (for me), but I'll look like a complete, worn-out hag by the end of it, lol! This better be worth it...
    I'm finding that just like "the little engine that could", mindset is a big part of this minor miracle (my writing every day, that is - not me looking like an exhausted hag, lol!). I'm daily telling myself that writing every day - with a goal of 1000 words - IS what I'll be doing for the next 80 days. And so far, I've managed to trick myself into doing it.
    They say it only takes 28 days to develop a new habit. This may be a scary thing, if we're talking about that extra chocolate bar you've started picking up each day on your way home from the office :). Or it can be an overwhelmingly positive thing: like when you start getting up a half-hour earlier to go for a walk in the crisp morning air. Or when you decide to turn the tv off a little earlier each night to go to bed, or spend the time chatting with your partner over a cuppa. Or, like me, you decide that you might as well write every day - because the alternative (very occasional weekend writing sessions) just wasn't working for you.
    So, the next time you find yourself a little frustrated over your current life-direction (or lack of direction), remember the little engine that could. 
    And the little, crazy writer who's up at midnight in front of a glowing computer screen, mumbling, "I think I can, I think I can... zzzzz!" :)   

This week, I’ve finally gotten back on my horse – metaphorically speaking. It’s been so long (almost a couple of months, I’m ashamed to admit) since I’ve worked on my novel, that I’d become a little rusty, a bit “gun shy”. Too long out of the writing saddle had me feeling a touch wary of launching back in. I mean, who really likes being “saddle sore”? (Those infrequent riders like me will appreciate what I’m saying here. :) )

But this week – courtesy of May: You Write Your Novel – I finally decided that I’d had enough of my conscience niggling me every time I spied my writing notebook sitting on the arm of the couch; every time my imagination conjured up images of another inch-thick layer of dust settling onto my book with each passing week.

It was time to grab the reins once more, holler, “Hi-ho, Silver!” (well, maybe whisper it – us creative types can already have a bit of a “loopy” image, lol!), and grab my writing muse by the horns. (Hmm – I seem to be mixing my metaphors here. Whatever.)

The funny thing is that things are rarely as difficult as we imagine they’ll be. Instead of staring out into space for hours with a blank page before me, I actually found it refreshing – even fun – to return to my languishing characters and breathe new life into another chapter of their suspended lives. I realised that, in a way, I had actually missed my regular novel-writing sessions, the endorphin-buzz from finding my flow. From simply creating.

So I’m trying to remember this feeling, would bottle it if I could. And then when those troublesome twins, Lethargy and Complacency, threaten to wrap their bony little fingers around my writing hand, I’ll be able to easily lasso them by the positive memories of my last writing session.

And ride off into the sunset of “happily ever after”… :)

So, what about you? What “horse” have you been avoiding getting back on? Is it launching back into your writing (or some other creative pursuit), or even something to do with your career (maybe applying for a new, more fulfilling job) or relationships (starting over, or improving what you already have)? Whatever your horse is, know that that very first ride – although a little scary – will never be quite as bad as you’ve imagined. And once you start going in the right direction, you’re already heading off towards your own sunset. :)