Germs. They’re everywhere. In the air we breathe, on the things we touch. Omnipresent little micro organisms, ready to multiply. Germs are infectious, they spread. Without question, from where I sit today sniffling and coughing, germs are bad news. As I continue to nurse my cold, with nothing better to do than blow my nose, too headachy to read for very long, assured by friends and family that “something” is going around, I wondered where I picked up this cold. There’s no real way to be sure. The germs just landed here with me, said “she looks like a soft place to land” and took root.
I was still thinking about my germs when I started to browse my bookshelves to decide which book from my list will come next. (One good thing about being off sick, I have plenty of time to read – in short spurts – sigh). Pulling a few books to look through, I noticed a copy of Mitch Albom’s Five People You Meet in Heaven. This is a story of a man who died. Arriving in heaven, he meets five people who were; unbeknownst to him, significant to his life and the path it took. I was struck by the simplicity and beauty of this story when I read it years ago. I finished the book feeling a renewed determination to live with intention, meaning. It was like a little seed was planted in my brain. A germ of an idea.
As someone who writes stories, a germ of an idea is the first wonderful step. That golden nugget. You rub it, fluff its pillow, hoping it will get comfy and decide to stay for awhile. Maybe invite a few friends in, have a drink, swap stories and get to know each other. My kind of germ. I know that medically, there are both good and bad microbes. Some germs, like some ideas, do good work for us. Keep us healthy. They cleanse us, heal us, and become part of us. I’ve always known that words have that power. I think that’s what draws me most to books. The power to move. The power to wound. The power to inspire. The power to challenge. The power to affect. The power to change.
I know there are a plethora of daunting ideas and worries floating around us each day. Little nay-saying missiles launched by people consumed with regret or insecurity, intent on their own agendas. You can let them burn a hole through your good humour or slather yourself in ideological sunscreen, letting in only the positive rays.
Toodles for now... I've got a pillow to fluff.
About Me
- muhbuh
- If who we are is what we do, then like most people, I am a mixed bag of personas. Writer, bookworm, friend, are what first come to mind. Equally apt would be potty mouth, dog walker, Guinness drinker, swimmer, storyteller, political animal, baker and proud Canadian. Mostly though, I consider myself simply insanely lucky to have a small posse of near and dear ones who put up with me and my curvy, creative, curly haired, opinionated self. I started this blog several years ago with the idea to challenge myself in a myriad of ways. Years in, despite the sporadic entries, I still like to muse about the absurdity of life, what inspires surprises and angers me, books and other entertainments, my menagerie, my travels and any other notion buzzing round in my head.
I wish I could get one of those little idea germs. I'm in total writer's block right now, grr.
ReplyDeleteHope you feel better soon.
Thanks Amanda. I can relate to be blocked. One of my writing instructors told me he uses lists. It actually worked for me, but I am a list person anyway. Give yourself 5 minutes, make a list words to describe a setting or feeling of a related character or something they are wearing or anything you think of. The idea is to be on the periphery of your blockage, but not right in the midst of it. Free think, don't censor or over analyze things. See what pops up. If nothing else, it primes the pump abit and may help you flush out another section.
ReplyDeleteBeing blocked sucks, but you'll get through it. Keep at it.