Mother of Three
Dreams can come true. I am living proof of
that. My dream of becoming a published author has come true. In 2013
I formed
my publishing company, La Luna Press, L.L.C. In April of 2015 I published my first book, “I
am Hope.” In February of this year I published “I am Hope” in the Spanish
language, under the title “Soy Esperanza.” I have just had another dream come
true.
When I set out to make my dream come true,
I did not realize that a dream could come true more than once. Every time
I
publish a book, this dream to be a published author comes true all over again.
When I published my first book, I wrote how
the creative process can be compared to giving birth to a child. There is a
gestation period, a natural evolutionary process that occurs. Once the creation
is ready, it is birthed into the world.
With that analogy in mind, it is my immense
pleasure to share with you that I am now a proud mother of three. My latest book
of poetry, “The Bigger Picture”, is available now, exclusively through Amazon.
For the end of the book “I am Hope”, I
ended it with a poem entitled, “The Death of a Friendship.” This book, “The
Bigger Picture”, picks up where “I am Hope” left off.
The poetry in this book was written four
years ago. That was an especially painful time for me, in the wake of that
relationship ending. While the
relationship had been beneficial for both him and me, the way it ended was especially
heartbreaking.
I have gone through a lot in the last four
years. Yet, I have accomplished a great deal in this time as well. None of it
would have been remotely possible if I had not gone through this adversity.
When I think back on that time in my life,
where I was at that point of my evolution as an artist, as an individual, I
almost do not recognize myself. Yet I find myself in that time, within the
pages of the book. I find myself within every page of every book I publish.
Reading my own poetry is like an out of
body experience. I can read a poem as if I did not write it. I liken this effect
to the writing process. When I write, I often enter a different head space; I
zone out, if you will, and let the creative process take over. It is almost
like I am not the one writing the piece, but the instrument through which the
writing comes.
In another way, reading my own poetry is
like hearing a song. As I read my words, I am instantly transported to a
different time and place within my memory. I am transported back to the time
that I wrote the piece. Sometimes when reading my writing, I can feel the
emotions I felt when I wrote it.
To commemorate the publication of the book,
I would like to now share the poem that shares the title of the book, “The
Bigger Picture”…..
“The
Bigger Picture”
Written Friday, June 22, 2012
I recently wrote about the death of a
friendship. We were very good friends to one another. But the last days of the
friendship were very painful.
This person was a genuine friend to me.
We loved one another as friends. We shared many wonderful moments, had many
fascinating discussions, had many moments of laughter and shared our deepest
hurts, fears and darkest secrets.
Whenever one of us had a problem, or
just needed to talk, we were always there for one another-to listen, give
advice, provide comfort, support, make each other laugh.
The sudden transition of this person not
being in my life anymore, after our years of friendship, is a definite change.
There are two sides to every story. On one hand, there is that person’s view of
things, and on the other hand is reality.
Do I wish that person would have handled
things differently? Yes. Do I wish I had a chance to explain my reaction to the
last issue in our friendship, to convey that what I felt had nothing to do with
that person? Yes. But none of that matters. It's in the past. It's done. What
truly matters is what happens now.
I went to a good friend of mine, a wise
author I know (and mutual friend of that person and myself) and told him what
has happened. He was very sorry to hear what had happened. But, he also gave me
the best advice.
My author friend pointed out that I
could keep thinking about the end of the friendship, and how hurtful and
disrespectful it was. Or, I could look at the bigger picture. I can look back
on the friendship as it was over the years. I can look at the good times we
shared, the great discussions we had together, the times we made each other
laugh, everything that I learned, the time when our friendship was sweet and
good.
He also said that I can be thankful. I
can be thankful to God for sending that person into my life. I can thank God
for our years of friendship and the life lessons that the friendship taught me.
I can be thankful that that person was indeed a good friend to me and loved me
for who I am, flaws and all.
That is what I plan to do now. I plan to
look past the hurt. I plan to be thankful that that person and I had the chance
to meet.
Picture yourself at the beach at the
ocean. You're sitting on a towel, enjoying the breeze, soaking in the rays of
sun. There are many people with you at the beach, and many distractions-people
fighting, yelling, people smoking cigars, children screaming, cell phones
ringing, loud music blaring, dogs barking-all of which is disrupting your
peace. Do you focus on those distractions? Or do you instead choose to focus on
the beautiful, infinite ocean just ahead of you?
That's what I choose to look at. The
ocean. The bigger picture.
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