The Call

It’s the first day of November and I woke up feeling “the call.”

It was unexpected as I had already pretty much written off the idea of doing Nano Poblano — writing and posting something every day this month — this year because of all the usually reasons… Too busy. No extra time. Juggling too much already. Need to focus my energy on other things. Not sure I’d find something to write every day.

All of these reasons are pretty compelling. They’re also, of course, complete b.s.

Nevertheless I feel the call. Whether it’s due to years of building the practice every November, or comments from others in my social media orbit generating buzz about it, or something stirring in me, or the need to return to my core, here I am.

I feel wildly unprepared, as though I’ve shown up at the airport for a flight without even packing a bag. Which is a recurring nightmare I sometimes have about flying. Nevertheless, here I am.

If you, like me, are a writer before anything else — or perhaps an artist, any field really that is predicated on the drive to create something — whether or not you do it regularly, whether or not anyone pays you to do it, whether or not you feel like you’re any good at it, whether or not anyone even reads what you create… writing is not what you do, it’s who you are.

That feeling is a better indicator of purpose than any other I’ve ever felt. So I may not have time or energy for everything in life, including this… but when I feel the call, I have to answer.

Header image: Pexels / S Migaj