Christmas is a ribbon wrapped around an
entire year, complete with a beautiful bow on top. For some, this bow
brings hope and anticipation for the new year. Others cling to
Christmas for fear or sentimentality, dragging their feet in the snow
to keep the new year from coming.
But come it does.
With an entire twelve months in front
of us. A clean slate. Ready for the filling in of ideas, dreams,
hopes, aspirations… a chance to pause and dream.
But sometimes the screaming monkeys
drown out my dreaming. Those voices that remind us that we didn’t
achieve any of the goals we’d set last year- so why set new ones?
You’re just a failure. A fraud. A wannabe with no talent. Anne
Lamott says to take those screaming monkeys and put them in a jar.
LOCK. THEM. UP. One by one… pick them up by their scraggly little
tales and put a lid on ‘em.
Because you deserve to dream.
Let go and believe for a moment, that
all of your hopes for this next year are actually possible. And not
just possible, but that you will achieve them. Why not?
Words from The Mockingjay
recently grabbed my attention.
The rebel government needed some promo
videos to prove that the least likely of people (Katniss) could
change the world. But whenever they called “Action!” the results were total flops. Haymitch, Katniss’s
mentor, called a meeting.
“I want everyone to think of one
incident where Katniss Everdeen genuinely moved you. Not where you
were jealous of her hairstyle, or her dress went up in flames or she
made a halfway decent shot with an arrow. Not when Peeta was making
you like her. I want to hear one moment where she made you
feel something real… (then people list a bunch of really touching
moments)… So, the question is, what do all of these have in
common?”
“They were Katniss’s,” says Gale
quietly. “No one told her what to do or say.”
Are you following me here? Don’t let
people put you on a set and tell you how to perform. I’m going to
bet that most of what the children’s literature market finds
incredible didn’t come from a scripted equation.
It came from the heart.
A wild, carefree,
dare-to-dream-and-believe-it heart.
So let’s mix up Haymitch’s words
about Katniss, and make them about your literary hero
(illustrator or writer).
“I want you to think of one
incident where (fill in the name of your hero here) genuinely moved
you. Not where you were jealous of his/her three-book debut deal, or
his/her hour-long book-signing line or the simple fact that his/her
book was actually amazing literature and you couldn’t put it down.
Not when Tara Lazar’s Picture Book Idea Month was making you like
him/her. I want to hear one moment where he/she made you feel
something real…”
What was that moment?
Aim for that.
Move people to feel something real. And
realize that it probably won’t come from how great your twitter
profile sounds or what you wear to a regional conference.
Now let’s talk about your last
year.
Maybe you created a fabulous website,
or bought a Pride and Prejudice Book Scarf (these are really cool,
folks) or wrote a halfway decent manuscript. Maybe you won a contest
that gave you some PR.
But when did you make someone feel
something real?
I know when I listen to some of you
talk about the stories you are working on… there’s a light in
your eyes. You beam. That moves me.
When I hear or see you encourage a
fellow artist… applaud their success while you still long for your
own, or give of your time and energy to help another along… there’s
a dazzle.
When you put your “baby” out there
and you show your illustrations or first drafts… and I see you
in them. Your passion. Your talent. Your unique bent in the world.
I’m encouraged that my uniqueness has a place too… and I can also
be brave to share it.
The list goes on.
So tie that big ‘ol ribbon on the
gift package of 2013.
Put the screaming monkeys in the jar
and screw the lid on tightly.
Then dream. Decide what this next year
will hold for you and aim for the moon.
And don’t let anyone dictate how the
journey of 2014 will look. Throw yourself out there in all your
excitement and passion and see what happens. Or, as Haymitch said of
Katniss, “Put her out in the field and just keep the cameras
rolling.” That’s when the magic will happen.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
