Hello Everyone,
It is the first Wednesday of the month, and the last
Wednesday for IWSG in 2017.
IWSG is a writer support group created and led by Alex
Cavanaugh. It is a big help to many of us who do not mind sharing our
insecurities, our successes or giving encouragement and help to others.
So, if you are interested and would like to join, the
link below will lead you directly to us:
My report:
Submissions – None – (I am
busy revising and will start submitting again in December or January 2018.
Outstanding Submissions
Three poems to the Lascaux
Review – Still Outstanding
A Reflective Look At 2017
This year has tested me. There
were times when I screamed stopped, but ugly circumstances kept coming. Failures,
rejections, and insecurity kept knocking at my door. As I began to face them, I
was not sure if I was doing the right thing. I wanted to hide my head in the
sand until everything was over.
Sometimes I went to bed
weeping, and sometimes I fell into my bed drained from exhaustion. Sometimes, I
thought, no more, I cannot take any more. However, the equational sum of uc+f+r+i (ugly
circumstances+failures+rejections+insecurities) has shown me the DNA that makes
me who I am, and I have profited most from its results.
Getting up after setbacks is
not easy, especially when your life fundament rattles and spins out of control.
This year, I have learned that even in the worst circumstances, if you have a
vision, you have a purpose, and your purpose will motivate you. The vision
gives you the hunger to keep moving forward. It is entrenched deep within your
DNA.
What would I do differently?
Nothing. It is those blunders, mistakes or incongruities on my journey that has
made me shine. They have challenged me to rise to the utmost and step past ugly
circumstances, failures, rejections, and insecurities and become the very best that
I can become. Thus, everything I have encountered this year has been a blessing
in disguise.
My only complaint would be that it has taken me some time to
discover the blessings.
Have a lovely December. Be
safe. Think before you commit yourself to doing something on New Year’s Eve and
crossover successfully into 2018.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat Garcia
