Sowing the Seeds and Trusting They Will Grow
(Or, My Life Since January)

by: Sandra Novack

Dearest Peeps:

Spring has arrived!  Yay!  Last year at this time it was 85 degrees and I went on vacation; this year it’s not even 32 degrees, sleety, cold, and I am writing this to you from my 1914 home, where I have my ass parked on a heating vent.  Hey, I take warmth where and when I find it.  (By the way:  I learned that particular lesson from my cats, particularly Ouija, my fawn lynx-point Oriental, seen below.)

  

Like our minds and hearts, the seasons have their own atmospheres, too.  Ups, downs, highs, lows, blanched or cold ground, blossoms or blooms.  Always in this is the necessity and beauty of change itself.  It got me thinking: This is very similar to the patterns I often experience in my writing and professional life, as well.

I confess that I’ve been spring flinging.  New people, new relationships, new ideas.  You know the saying, “If you build it, he will come”?  Well, I asked for even BETTER than I’ve been getting in the past, and lately, both people and new energy have just been, well…showing up.  Out of the blue.  With very little effort on my part, or worry.

My spring cleaning started on January 1^st, in the heart of winter. I made a list, an actual “manifestation board” (don’t laugh; it works!), of all the things I wanted to happen in 2013.  It was my way of setting the seeds of intention.  I included more support in writing, a new publishing contract, more money, more recognition, and that was just the start.  I let my big, big heart ask, and more importantly, trust. 

Then I cleaned house, which involved some tough decisions. When I say ‘tough’, I sort of lie, because my gut had been telling me I needed changes for months, yet my brain was worried I would somehow be left in the lurch.  Finally I just decided to validate how I was feeling.  Scary, right?  Well, Yes and No.  It was very exciting, too!  Clearing out the old can open some pretty valuable real estate space for new people/energies/ideas to inhabit.

The funniest thing I can report re: the “board”:  On Jan. 1^st, I wrote down “Publishing Contract” (as in “for a book”).  Within three hours of that, the mail came, and out of the blue, I opened an envelope and saw the words “Publishing Contract” for a project I put in for months before (and had honestly forgotten about).  It wasn’t a book contact, mind you (maybe I should have been more specific!), but it made me laugh, anyway.  The universe can have a wonderfully sweet sense of humor, too--little things that let you know your intentions are heard, always, and immediately.

It’s March now, and I can report:  So far I have gotten four things already, and one was a very big thing, and involved a major industry name and longtime icon reading my work and loving it and hopping on the “Sandy train.”  For this love, I am truly grateful.  

So: What about you?  What good things do you want in the 2013, beyond spring?  It’s never too late to plant some seeds.  My wish for all of you?  May you know you are always supported and guided, My Sweetest Friends, in and to your highest goals and intentions.  Much love your way, and happy writing!

 

Sandra Novack’s novel PRECIOUS was a Booklist Top Ten Debut of 2009.  Her short story collection, EVERYONE BUT YOU, was published in 2011. Currently she is feeling some great mojo and love for her newest book.  Visit her at: http://www.sandranovack.com.