Write Now, Bow Wow

It is an interesting thing to see the shyness that writers and artists have about calling themselves writers or artists. Today I was in the parking lot of Trader Joe's when I ran into a fellow massage practitioner student. We talked about what we are doing for livelihood. She said she is an esthetician and a single mom raising two kids alone.

We had been talking at least five minutes before she confided, pounding her fist to her heart..."but my real passion is art, I am an artist. I will have a show in a month." And then came the mumble, but I can't yet make my living there. It is like we feel we have to pull out a pay stub that says this much came from my x number of sold paintings, articles, books, etc...before we can say, "I am a writer" or "I am an artist."

When I look at my dear furry friend Mashie, conked out sideways snoring at my feet...I see she has no such complex. She is a dog. She is not aspiring to be a dog, she is not envying all of the other dogs that can prove they are dogs, she simply is a dog. Bow Wow.

I have written all of my life. Since a wee peanut little kid. Like my mother, I have treasure chests (or garbage bins) of journals. I have poems, I have short stories, I have articles, I have finished and unfinished manuscripts and yet...if it does not meet the phantom image in my mind the words, "I am a writer" stay unspoken.

So in my right livelihood, WRITE NOW blog it only feels right to claim it right now. I am a writer, damn it. Like my dog is a dog, I am and have been for many years, a writer.

BOW WOW---WRITE NOW!