When Aimée invited me to be a guest blogger on here, I wanted her audience to like me so I was trying to come up with something inspirational and motivating to write.
Unfortunately, I’ve been laying in bed, wading in the shallow end of self pity or maybe it’s just a slight hormonal imbalance (never underestimate the power of fatigued adrenals and low iron levels).
I’ve had a mental paralysis around writing for years. Although I keep telling everyone I’m a writer, my perfectionist nature keeps me from ever getting a start. I’ve been convinced that self-doubt and fear will never subside enough for me to write a book, look for a writing job, or start my own editing business.
As I was lying here, filing my mental complaints to the Universe,
I heard a voice. It was subtle and probably not God. Maybe it was my newly deceased Grandmother who I've been dying (shit, bad pun) to hear from. Anyway, I hear:
"Do you want to write for the recognition or do you want to write for the love of it?"
I immediately answered like an obedient child at boarding school,
"For the love of it."
I buried my head in my pillow.
“That's a lie and I swore I was going to stop lying.”
I sat up.
Is that my reality? Do I need that much outside validation all the time?
I believe the biggest lie we can buy into is that what we have to offer the world doesn’t matter or is too much or not enough or too (insert YOUR own lie here).
Can you imagine what a lifeless place this planet would be if everyone sincerely believed and acted on THAT belief system?
Holy hell.
Bottom line: You know what your gift is and my guess is you have a general idea of what you are supposed to be doing with it.
As I thought about it some more, I realized how selfish it is to give fear and my ego that much power. Our gifts are not meant to be used to boost our ego. Our gifts are meant to not only bring us and others joy, they are meant to heal the planet.
Let me say that again.
OUR GIFTS ARE MEANT TO HEAL THE PLANET.
Let’s get to work.
Megan Okkerse is a New York based and Wisconsin bred, writer. She doesn't have a curriculum vitae she would like to share, however she has worked with Don King, sold tickets in a tinfoil booth at the Western Idaho State Fair,
paraded around Portland, OR as an astronaut to make rent, and lived in a house for meth addict mothers without a child or an addiction. She has let life lead her by way of her intuition and is passionate about connecting with others who seek to do the same. She is currently re-discovering her passion for words and carbohydrates. She hopes that one day you will be reading her book late at night or early in the morning on a subway ride into the city.