Gratitude


194.8

   Ugh. As you can see from the above number, my diet is not progressing well. I managed to gain the weight I dropped last week, plus some. I’ve got a number of excuses. My schedule got re-routed several times this week and I had no indoor contingency plans set up when my outdoor exercise got rained out almost every day.
   But I’m not giving up. Even I can learn from my mistakes, right?

   The hiccups in the diet plans are only a few of the frustrations I’ve been facing this week. Among those are the amount of time it is taking to get my second novel, The Dragon of Doughton Park, published and the paucity of time I’m finding to do any writing (including this blog). I promised readers that Dragon would be available around the end of June, and here it is, months later, and still not ready. The characters in Red Wolf Rising, the third Red Wolf novel, are anxious to see some action, a great number of writing ideas are festering in my brain, and my efforts to work writing time into my new job schedule are failing miserably.

  What to do?

  Well, things could be worse… much worse. This is what we in the recovery community call life on life’s terms. And I was taught many years ago by some very wise people that the solution to these frustrations lies in the practice of the spiritual principle of gratitude. Having been desperate enough in the past to try it myself, I know that it works.
   Being grateful doesn’t mean I have to passively stand by and let the world tromp over me, but if I take the time to look at the blessings I have in my life it takes the focus off the negative and changes my attitude. And it’s my negative attitude about life’s frustrations, not the frustrating things themselves, that cause me so much grief.

   So here goes…

   I have been blessed with some talent for putting words together and I’m living in a miraculous period of history when it is relatively easy to develop that talent and share it with a world-wide audience. Self-publishing a book nowadays is not all that expensive, and I am blessed with friends who are willing to devote their free time out of interest and support to help me in the endeavor.

   I have a job that is paying most of the bills. I work with some wonderful people in a helping profession. Unlike many folks, I can go home at the end of the day feeling that I did at least one thing worthwhile for my fellow man.

   I have an interesting and supportive family, including a teenage son who, as of this writing, is not doing drugs, running with some gang, or getting some girl pregnant, and whose company is both delightful and entertaining.

   I have an active imagination, which many at my age have lost, that has already provided me with enough material to keep writing the rest of my days (even if I myself turn into a werewolf and live for a thousand years). I have a safe, comfortable place to live, more food than I ought to eat, a small group of wonderful friends, and relatively good health.

   And I did write some this week. I wrote the first scene of a short story I hope to share with y’all soon (the working title is The Alchemist’s Ledger), finished the prologue to Red Wolf Rising, and wrote a very fun scene in the back story of Clifford and Claire, the one where they meet for the first time.

   Oh, and yesterday I discovered another 5-star review of The Draculata Nest was posted on Amazon, bringing the average rating up to 4.4 out of a possible 5. That really warms my heart.

   Wow, I feel better already.

   If you want to feel better, try a little gratitude yourself. That, or click one of the links below and escape into the world of the red wolf for a while. Or, try both things at once, no telling how good you’ll feel!
 
   Draculata Nest for Kindle      Draculata Nest for Nook     Draculata Nest in paperback

   Until next time... Happy Reading!

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