On Writing and Balance

One of my favorite book series ever is the Darkover series by the late Marion Zimmer Bradley. I read each of those novels in one sitting. Seriously. Loved them.

It's no secret that I am a HUGE fan of feminist fiction -- whether obviously stated as such by the author, or a label the poor author has to tolerate from me. In any case, I went back to MZB's site tonight (a habit -- I re-read books I fell in love with, and wander over to websites of authors who once stirred that passion within me, when I want to remind myself of why I began writing in the first place).

I am a firm believer in the whole, "knowledge speaks when the student is ready" thingie and I believe this to be true about the timing of books and other reading materials -- that they show up when you need them to. So, tonight I rediscovered MZB's thoughts on "wanting something badly enough" and it put a lot of things into perspective for me.

I realized that, although writing (and seeing my books in print over a lifetime) is my dream and goal, I am not willing to sacrifice certain things to achieve it. My goal, more than anything else, is balance. And writing books is a part of creating that balance. The other things are my relationships (primarily with my husband and children), my personal growth and evolution, my health (emotional, physical, spiritual), community service and involvement, and being an active contributor in the world as we spin toward a common goal.

I'm sure there are things I am missing, but what's important to me is not being able to "do it all." It's that all of these things work together in a harmony, blending and flowing to create the same tune -- one that represents who I am and what I care about most during my time here.

Writing is certainly one element in the symphony, but it is equal in importance and weight to all of the others.