Real public service requires trust which requires honesty. It’s not about upholding an image or fealty to a party. It’s not creating a club whose members agree on everything. It’s not an act that follows a script. It’s about showing up real and offering all that you are to help people.
Every day I leave the Triple F Ranch to enter the world of academia. In academia I spend a lot of energy in conversations about language, perception, and communication. I do a lot of critical thinking. In between classes I take forays into my writing life where I think about poverty, and justice, and hope and Jesus (and coffee and kids and fiction and memoir and Guideposts devotions). And sometimes I come home with a headache.
I believe writers write at least in part so we don’t have to talk; we can say what we want to say, put it out there, and hope people connect with it. But we don’t have to face anyone else when we’re writing. We don’t have to feel stupid if a joke falls flat—at least not instantly, like happens when you’re speaking. We can also edit till we feel we’ve got it right, or as close as we’re going to get. Speaking is not like that unless it’s totally scripted. And of course, totally scripted is not how I roll.
I’m a mother, teacher, writer, seeker. I could tell you I started this blog to make a difference in the world--and it would be great if it does--but that’s not really why I started it.
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