Some of the dearest, most personal thoughts are ones you never intended on sharing. When you realize those thoughts could offer the world something that only you could offer, as unique as you are, these thoughts become the world’s thoughts. “Our words, actions, thoughts and convictions will leave an imprint on this world and stay here long after we are gone. It’s up to us to decide whether that impact be positive or negative.” 

Sleepless night or not, I’m always thinking. I write stories in my head and recite memorized literature as if there is a song stuck in my head.

I have years of unfinished fiction on my flash drive, quotes I’ve found important clipped on Facebook, pictures and original sayings posted to Instagram. I have words sketched on post notes I’ve found years later. I save cards I receive on special occasions;  magazine clippings are glued in my scrap journal.

I’ve colored, etched; typed more letters than I can count, more words than I know, more sentences than I can imagine, more paragraphs I can keep track of. And it’s always been for me.

I read Anne Frank’s diary in middle school. I questioned: “I wonder how she would feel if she knew her most private thoughts and the only space that was physically hers was shared with the world.”

I felt I was invading her privacy, so much so I didn’t finish it and not because I didn’t enjoy it. I actually loved it. I remember thinking, and even expressing to my teacher, that I wanted her last written word to be hers. I refused to take that away from her. She had everything else stripped from her young self, her final thought was to be solely hers.

Poetry is a songbird. I imagine it floating off the page into the unknown just as song lyrics do.

When a child blows a bubble, the shiny sphere disappears at the speed the child blows.

As air is pushed though tiny pink lips, the child is “responsible” for how fast or slow the bubbles flow. 

An author is the child in this analogy.

We decide and are responsible for how harshly or kindly our words are presented to the world for all to see and examine.

The child will learn that if she blows harshly, the bubbles will float faster and disappear more quickly. When she decides she wants the bubbles to stay so she can enjoy them more, she’ll learn through trial and error to blow more gently.

Some of the dearest, most personal thoughts are ones you never intended on sharing. When you realize those thoughts could offer the world something that only you could offer, as unique as you are, these thoughts become the world’s thoughts. “Our words, actions, thoughts and convictions will leave an imprint on this world and stay here long after we are gone. It’s up to us to decide whether that impact be positive or negative.” 

Today I challenge you dear friends to think about what I say next on this *very hot* morning:

What do you want to be remembered for? How do you want the world to see you after you are gone? What will be the first memory that pops into an individual’s head when he/she thinks of you? Good things? Bad things?

As I think about my “legacy,” I challenge you to think about yours.

It is never too late to change that narrative. Just some food for thought this morning. ❤