It’s no secret that I love what I do. Only a love like this could have me continue to write after each rejection or well into the night after a long day at the office. Only a love this strong could make me walk away from a well-established, successful career to become a full-time writer.
“Follow your bliss,” the wise Joseph Campbell said, and following mine has changed my life for the better.
Yet for a long time, I thought I was the only one who loved what I did. Then there was my incredible family, whose support means the world. A few people started to be added into the mix here and there, but still not a lot of people.
I write because it makes me happy. If you’re looking for your life purpose, trust that feeling and run with it.
After working for a number of years as a writer, I have come to a place where other people love my work. More readers show up each day, talking about how much they love my books and how it’s changing their lives.
Happiness is having other people love your work.
The glow in my heart when I receive a delightful review or a heartfelt email from a reader rivals a million fireflies. Having people love your work makes them part of your community, part of your family in some ways. We’re connecting around characters, their journeys, their emotions, and the deeper message that holds it all together (what my old writing professors called themes).
This is a sacred space, this nexus of mutual love for one’s work. And I’m grateful for it.
When you look at your work, do other people love what you do as much as you do? Or perhaps we need to back up and ask, “Do you love what you do?”
When you start asking those questions and find yourself filled with happiness, you know you are on the path to glory. Not the material kind, although that is a lovely outcome, but the one where you are in full alignment with your purpose in the world and are attracting all of the right people to enjoy and support it.
Friends, that place is a kind of paradise, and I am happy to be residing in it after so many cold winters. My prayer and wish is that you will all find your own soul-nurturing paradises through you life purpose if you haven’t already.
Image courtesy of nixxphotography at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Ava
I often tell people “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.” At almost 50 (yikes!), it makes me happy to know that I can contribute to someone else’s happiness. I have only read Nora Roberts Land, but please know that the story made me very happy. I hope that makes you very happy. Keep those stories coming, I will try to catch up!
Patricia – That’s what I always say too. “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.” At just shy of 50 (one more year to go – ugh! HATE admitting that!) I am so very happy for people that are not only able to figure out what they want to be when they grow up but are able to actually do it.
Ava – I am so very glad that we, your readers & fans, get to enjoy that you’ve discovered what you want to be and are doing it. Keep up the excellent work and keep the books coming. I finished The Chocolate Garden and am now waiting for the next one!