When I determined to work on this blog I did not imagine that the outcome would ever be so positive. My earliest, brief entries to this blog, were nervous and resistant. This was at least in part due to fear of unfair judgment and criticism of both myself and those I wanted to write about. The positive forces have far outweighed the negative and I have loved dabbling around as an amateur writer. Not only has writing been rewarding in itself, but because my stories have touched generous hearts, I now have enough funds to buy a cow next month for Sarah and John and at least two more projects beyond this.
Writing has taught me that art is not so much about others’ impressions, or about the end result, but about my own inspiration and articulation. Nursing in remote Australia and then further afield has obviously been my main incentive for writing. Yet the strongest impetus was a sorrowful time in my life, when I was forced to develop skills in accepting personal adversity and injustice. This experience taught me about my own strengths and drove me towards change which ultimately spurred my writing and led me on this unusual, rewarding and happy venture.
Other, truly talented artists, seem to also be similarly spurred. Meryl Streep’s speech at the 74th Golden Globes earlier this week, referring to the power of empathy and the role a broken heart can play in creativity, spoke directly to me. Beautiful words from a beautiful and talented person.
Her full speech is here: Meryl Streep accepting a lifetime achievement award at 2017 Golden Globes
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