Monday, March 1, 2010

I'll Let the Pictures Do the Talking--or most of it anyway.












Ever have one of those moments when the end of the rainbow seems far, far away? When the path you've chosen tires you, and the goal ahead requires a tough climb?



Sure. That's par for the course, you're a writer. It takes a will of iron to work with paper and ink. Not to mention an endless well of optimism. Here are more questions for the artist in you. Do you see things a little differently? Imagine new worlds within the ordinary?







Do you relate to van Gogh? At times. I do. (Obviously, I'm not a genius, and no, I don't intend to cut my ear off.) Yet, there are days when I feel misunderstood, as if my abilities and perceptions are on the fringes. Do you ever feel that way? As though people don't get you or your writing?


On a recent trip to New York, I fell in love with Harlem and saw this old brownstone with blooming vines dripping from the windows. I wondered about the people who lived in that home. Do you often find beauty in unexpected places? Are you always looking for a story?

Despite the challenges and difficulties, isn't writing a miracle? Don't you count your lucky stars and blessings that you can do it? Isn't the world still a wonder?

Yes and yes and yes.











26 comments:

  1. YES YES and YES!!! Every single day.

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  2. Yes, indeed. Lovely post. :) Thank you.

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  3. Yes! I agree with all of the above. Stories can come from anywhere. And I so want to go to that brownstone. I want to live in a building like that. Great pictures!

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  4. Yes, Yes and Yes! Thanks for the post and your awesome comments on my blog. I will email you soon:)
    Thanks!

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  5. I'm glad we're unanimous! By the way, my husband took all the pictures (except for the famous van Gogh). The rainbow photograph was shot off our back deck one Spring morning, those are our children following the path in Zion's National park, that's a lovely Utah meadow with Aspen trees, and the pond is in Central Park. (The brownstone, of course, was in Harlem.) Thanks for the supportive comments!

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  6. Lovely pictures. And I really like your last name!:)Thanks for joining my blog!

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  7. Beautiful photographs, Roxy, and a lovely post. Yes, there are stories everywhere. Isn't it amazing? The chance to put those stories down on paper is a blessing for which I'm very grateful.

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  8. What beautiful pictures! I love the rainbow! I also wander by beautiful places and wonder whether the people who live in them see them the way I do.

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  9. Yes! Lovely post, Roxy. The rainbow reminded me of my little one. Thank you.

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  10. I don't like Van Gogh's paintings! There's one hanging in the Currier Gallery of Art in the city next to mine and I hate it! It's so messy and wierd! But I guess that's good art to provoke a reaction. I like the other pictures you posted, though :) and sometimes my rainbow seems far away, too.

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  11. Yes, we are blessed to hold this gift from God in our hands and hearts. Lovely post.

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  12. Aubrie, you are so funny! Tell me what you really think about van Gogh, girl. What about Starry, Starry Night or the Sunflowers or Iris'?

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  13. Love the pictures. I'm always looking for my next story, even though I have yet to finish the one I'm working on. And most of the time inspiration or a story idea strikes me at the weirdest times.

    For example: Last week, buried in work up to my elbows, I had one of those "ah ha" moments about my current WIP. You just never know when it will strike. Maybe that's the beauty of it. : )

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  14. I find beauty in the most expected places too. Then again, I'm a black sheep.

    Good post :)

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  15. Your questioning and uplifting perspective was just what I needed today. I do see stories and beauty in unexpected places. While I think it's a blessing to have stories to write, it's frustrating when they can't be shared.

    I love the brownstones in Harlem too. I love brownstones.

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  16. Thanks Roxy, and yes I completely agree!

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  17. Absolutely, one hundred percent, yes. And even though it's tough feeling alone in my thoughts, interpretations and views I can't imagine having it any other way. If I did, I wouldn't be who I am. And who I am is pretty... well, pretty darn me! :)

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  18. I think all creative people see things differently. I tend to notice body language more than those around me. Scenery too :)

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  19. :) all of the above!! I notice the landscape a lot, the little things. The way the sun shines through the window and creates a white spot in my vision. I love being a creative person and I love creative people.

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  20. Yes!!!

    I was hiking with my hubby in Vermont once and I took a million pictures of little, odd things that I found so beautiful and inspiring, like twisted roots. He didn't even roll his eyes. Not once. ;)

    I get lots of ideas from completely random things that I see or that people say, like... removed from the context, they're so thought provoking.

    My husband just played "Vincent" for me the other night. It's one of our favorite old songs. :)

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  21. BTW, congrats on your win over at Anissa's! :)

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  22. Yeppers! We are all living the dream. Seriously.

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  23. Yes! I love this post, how inspiring! I often feel different and misunderstood as a writer, but I'm also pretty grateful that I have this gift to see life in multiple perspectives. I'm a daydreamer, and sometimes I'm stuck in my own world. But how many non-writers can say that they've had so many amazing experiences come from their own brain? Thanks for this encouragement, Roxy.

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  24. Oh my, a hundered yeses to your questions. And with an exclamation point after each!

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  25. Beauty is always there. Sometimes, we have to look harder than others but it is there. I have always had a sympathy, a love for van Gogh. I do sympathize and empathize with him. I feel misunderstood and "odd" more often then not. This is beautiful encouragement.

    Jen

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  26. I've often said that I'm the oddball at the party. We did a personality, find your fit, workshop with confirmation kids. I was at the table with the teen girls and game magazines, the Social table. All the other moms were at the one with the Better Homes and Gardens magazines.

    I said yes out loud to your whole post. When I see the traffic hurrying to and fro, I wonder, "Where are all those people going? What's their story?"

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