Symbols

I am finding it more and more difficult to balance my home life, blogging, writing, and all the other stuff like getting kids to school and picking them up, etc. I just want to apologize for not visiting everyone's blogs the way I used to. Thanks so much for visiting mine, I appreciate it!

Remember last week when the praying mantis was in my car, on my seat? Well, it's funny because that whole experience made itself useful yesterday when I was finishing up a story. I needed to use a vivid metaphor in one spot, and the only thing that came to mind was that praying mantis. Little Julia and I had later watched some videos showing how this creature snatched out at its prey. It was a perfect visual for the way my character snatched out at an object. Swack! Perfect metaphor! I would have never thought of it or anything close for this particular sentence, if I hadn't had an actual praying mantis in my car. Life is so cool and mysterious like that. We don't even know how deep the mystery goes. I totally believe in synchronicity. Nothing, to me, is a coincidence.

When I used to work at the library I would go in to work thinking, "I really need to learn this or that, or read about this artist or musician or author." And not one, but ten, sometimes twenty books on that very subject would come in through the return slot. Every time. I believe there are symbols and signs everywhere but we're usually blind to their presence. It's really amazing when you do start to look for them, how many you find.

It can be something mundane as being late for work one morning. You're mad about it, until you see the wreck at the intersection you would have been at ten minutes earlier, had you been running on schedule. It can be a title in a newspaper in the gutter in the street. It can be a call from a friend. It can even be a butterfly landing on your shoulder when you go outside to get the mail. Pay attention to everything. It all means something.