Listening When Life Speaks

I wrote a post earlier this week that I've been tweaking all week. It's not that it needs that much tweaking. I realized today that it's about timing. While the timing was right to write it, it wasn't the right time to share it. So I've put it aside. I will probably share it sometime next week provided the timing feels right then.

Instead I decided to share a little something else with you.

This week has been a little odd for me. I had it all planned out, BUT life just refused to cooperate with my plans. Now that part isn't all that unusual. The part that was unusual was that I let it go. I didn't stress myself out or overtire myself trying to add the unexpected chores on top of what I planned to be doing. I didn't have a choice but to address the unexpected chores, so I did. I let my schedule just go. I didn't beat myself up - well, not too much anyway. I didn't feel like a failure. I didn't have any of my usual "I suck" attitude just because life decided my attention needed diverted. Instead, I tried to look at it through the advice I recently gave a friend. I told this friend that maybe the desired thing wasn't happening because there was something in the bigger picture that needed resolved or learned first. So I sat back, decided that maybe this minor inconvenience occurred when it did because the bigger picture of my life knew the timing was wrong for my plans for the week.

So what does this delay mean? Well, it means that as much as I wanted Reflections in Silhouette available to you by the end of next week, it likely won't be. It probably won't be available until early next month. It means that I let myself off the hook. It means that I'm working today instead of reading and watching television. It means that I'm not a hypocrite. I actually do believe what I tell others even if I don't always apply it to my life like I should. It means above all else that I took care of what needed my attention without compromising my need to take care of me. Yes, that means my work timeline suffered, but the book I release will be better than if I'd pushed myself to complete it while dealing with my minor inconvenience because I can give it the attention it deserves now that my minor inconvenience is under control, at least for the moment.

Mostly, it means I am human, and that is okay!
T. L. Cooper is an author and poet whose work aims to empower and inspire through an exploration of the human condition. Her poems, short stories, articles, and essays have appeared online, in books, and in magazines. Her published books include a collection of short stories, Soaring Betrayal, her Silhouette Poetry Series, and a novel, All She Ever Wanted. She grew up on a farm in Tollesboro, Kentucky. She currently lives in Albany, Oregon with her husband and three cats.

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