Under The Bridge Where I Used To Sit

Under the bridge where I used to sit,

It flowed so loudly, and now I hear its quietness.

I hear the same familiar sounds, but there are new ones too.

I hear the quiet whispers of gentler waters.

Was it always this quiet, but I just couldn't hear it?

I am listening now.



I took a few moments to try to write rhymes

But the words want to flow like the waters beside me.

There is structure in a creek, but sometimes it cuts a wider path,

Never minding if it’s doing things right.

I want to mind. I want to get things right.

But I also want to be the water that is so full it can’t be contained by a mere creek bed.



Under the bridge where I used to sit.

There is so much more for me than the mud under my feet.

The creek has more than the mud it glides over.

I am full of that life, but only if I choose it.

Instead I sit in my troubles, unable to hear.

I am listening now.



I am reminded of a song,

but the waters weren’t the ones who were troubled,

I was.

I was on the bridge looking down at calm waters.

But I could not hear them over the pounding of my heart.

Now I am still. I am closer.



Under the bridge where I used to sit

I hear the quietest sounds of the water as well as the loud.

Who knew a creek of barely a few feet could hold so much depth?

The water is truth, cutting its way, raging - now flowing gently.

I am listening now. I am listening.

Speak Lord.

Do it now.

Don't wait until you have time or energy.

I have to remind myself of this. I could be called to work in less than two minutes. My schedule is such right now that I am on call starting at 9, but I might not be called until 10.

It's so easy to think that I don't have time to write or I don't have time to paint or draw. Because I could be called away in one minute.

I could do something easier to stop in the middle of. I could read. But I want to write. And I want to draw. Just start something. Who cares if there's time? You know what's even easier to stop in the middle of then reading? Numbing Facebook scrolling. Waste. Of. Time. I do that WAY too often because there's just not time for anything else. I have this little device in my hand that I can even scroll through while doing dishes or loading the dishwasher. Maybe I can train myself to sketch while loading the dishwasher! Wouldn't that be something?

I don't need time to start something. Just start it!

When I am working on my novel I sometimes purposefully leave off mid sentence so that when I come back I am finishing a thought rather than starting from zero.

I need to draw something today. It can be a doodle. That's my October goal. Draw something every day. It can be a 2 second drawing, but I'd rather it be something more.

I am just starting to read the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. I hope it will give me some helpful tips and stuff. But sometimes I only have enough time to draw, not to read too. And I want to read the book before I start drawing, but that's not how it works. I cannot put stuff off just cause I'm not good at it yet or perfect yet. There's a sentence in the book that says "People even feel that they shouldn't take a drawing course because they don't know already how to draw."

Yep! I can't draw or paint cause I don't yet know how to. Great logic, Alison. So I will draw. I will write. I will paint. Who even cares if I'm good at it?

As I was reading the other day, I was looking at the words and the letters and marveling that I can read. It's a gift I often take for granted. But as I was reading I was thinking about reading, and that I can learn and consume knowledge because I can read.

I try not to take things for granted. It's really incredible when I can just be excited about things each day. I'm going to try to choose today and make the most of it!