I love jewelry. I love jewelry that is sentimental. And I am about as mushy as they come so quite a few things fall into that category. None so much as my bracelets.
There are three I wear nearly constantly. One, I do wear all the time. Despite the toll it takes on my beautiful silver band, I wear it while awake, while sleeping, and while in the shower. Cleaning? Doing dishes? Prepping patients? Yep, always on. Will forever be.
The other two I wear 75% of the time. They are hard to type in and a little noisy so they are taken off for certain tasks. One of these is a semicolon bracelet. If you don’t know why I wear this, please check this out. Pause. Always pause.
But it is the third bracelet that is inspiring today’s post. It’s an AngelicaTM “Pay It Forward” band. I bought it as a fundraiser for a child who is incredible beyond words and dealing with a health crisis that’s nearly insurmountable. As I was writing this morning (okay, let me backtrack on this and be honest. I was pretending I was writing while I was actually chatting with friends because… just because. Don’t judge me) the bracelet was sitting on my desk just to the left of my laptop and the “Pay It Forward” bangle was facing me. A little flickering light clicked in my brain and… then this happened.
I talk a lot on Friday’s about our writerly selves. Telling you (and, by default, myself) to take heart. There are bright sides to look on and things will get better. There are good and happy days ahead. And keeping your motivation is SO IMPORTANT. Never stop doing that, friend.
But (because there is ALWAYS a but) what are you doing for your fellow writers? Are you encouraging them? Are you sending them little reminders that you are available if they need to talk? At the very least are you sending them inappropriate/borderline pornographic funny memes/jokes to get them through the day? Not that I have EVER done this to my nearest and dearest… well… not today at least.
Because, here’s the thing, that’s what paying it forward is all about. When you are riding high I can guarantee you a fellow author is not. Perhaps their dream agent just sent a rejection. Maybe their editor just returned their MS all marked up in glaring red and the concept of editing/rewriting to that level has them in a pit of despair. Or maybe they are just plain having an Eeyore type day as we do.
Sometimes it is hard to look outside of ourselves and our own ups and downs to see what others need. And sometimes they don’t know what they need or how to ask and so they languish. Ask me how I know about that.
Reach out. Offer virtual hugs (or if you are lucky enough to live close to your writerly friends a real one. And cookies), a stupid/funny meme/video/joke, or a shoulder to cry on. Or all three if you wanna be a really badass friend.
As I said before that island unto yourself BS is exactly that. Be kind to one another. Be the support you would want because one day you may need to call in the favor.
Amelia Foster 