Process. Passion. Repeat.

Every single thing that we encounter in our daily lives was once nothing more than a thought.  

As the old saying goes, "you were once just a glimmer in your mother's eye."  The same holds true for the chair you're sitting in as you read this and the computer you are reading it on.  They started as a thought in a person's mind.  So, how did they turn from an electromagnetic wave of a single person's consciousness into a hard, physical object that another person can grasp?  I'd say equal parts process and passion.  

Have you ever made dinner?  You had an idea or desire, like... macaroni and cheese sounds delicious.  Then you made it happen.  Easy breezy.  Nearly everyone has experienced a similar idea to fruition success.  The dinner one is fairly simple in the United States because lots of people help you along the way -- they have a vested interest in making it easy for to have the macaroni and cheese you so desire. 

Sometimes you have an idea or desire that is not so common, that doesn't have a built in group of vested supporters.  Those ideas require more process and passion, but can still be brought to fruition.  

You are the architect of your life.  Your thoughts and ideas are powerful.  What do you want to create? 

Besides a beautiful family, home, and life, I have always wanted to create a book.  Here's the story of my story....

Namaste:  A Little Yoga Folk's Tale 

I had an idea years ago that very few people were concerned about.  I wanted to create a yoga  book that I could read to and share with my unborn children.  I wanted it to make yoga accessible and meaningful to them.  In 2003, I had started searching for that book, but it couldn't be found.  

Yes, I found books with pictures and explanations of yoga poses aimed a children (a few, not many), but I couldn't find a book that translated the richness and meaning of a yoga practice directly into a child's life.  And, as an educator and a yogi, I really wanted the whole package.  

The book already out there felt like text books with colorful pictures.  Informative enough, but not meaningful or literary.  I wanted a story with a character and journey that children could relate with and learn from.    

So, since I couldn't find the book, I set out to write it.  I have my Bachelor's degree in Teacher Education and was a certified yoga instructor, so I had lots of ideas on making the poses come to life in a folk tale or fable type fashion.  I worked hard on a manuscript.  I studied publishing houses, and how to submit manuscripts and how to use active language and imagery aimed at children.  

And then those publishers I researched and submitted to rejected me.  8 times.  ....Ouch!

I tucked the manuscript away for about 8 years (one for each rejection letter, I think) and while I seldom thought of it, I never threw the manuscript away.  

Sometimes it seems that there is no growth or progress when you have a goal or idea, but not all growth or progress is visible.  Nurturing an idea often requires a fallow period (the period of time when land is left unsown to restore fertility) as well as active periods.

Fast Forward to July 2011  

A local publisher is in the 4th of July parade near my dad's home.  She is calling for contest entries.  She walks along the crowd and puts a flyer in my hand.  My heart dances a little when I read it.  I know right then that I will go home, dust off that old manuscript and send it in.  

January 2012  

Rejection #9 arrives in letter form from the local publisher, but this rejection letter is different.  It is not the standardized letter from an assistant.  This is my original manuscript sent returned with handwritten notes scrawled in every margin.  And many of these notes are positive --she loves the title, idea, and some of the writing.  

I find seeds of encouragement planted within this rejection letter, so I only sulk for a day or two this time.  And then I decide to try again.  Actively.  I spend a week rewriting and tweaking.  I resubmit.  

Rejection #10 arrives quickly via email.  It is frank and honest.  More ideas and suggestions are included.  Part of me believes this is the end because I'd have to compromise too much of my vision to bring this idea to fruition.  And then I realize....

She is right.  Absolutely, perfectly correct.  In one hour I write exactly the story I always wanted to tell using her suggestions, but compromising none of my principles.  I resubmit it the very next day, sure she'll think I'm crazy and stalking her and couldn't have possibly reworked it in the ways necessary....... but this time I know that I've done it and I will get a yes.   

That "yes" came one year ago.  And it made my year (thank goodness, because its been a long year of waiting since then). 

Today the illustrations and final edits are done and the book is "in design".  I can't wait to see and share the fruits of my labor when it finally takes shape this spring.  

But, until then, I wanted to remind myself and you to honor the process.  

You really can shape your life with your thoughts.  They need careful tending and management to bear fruit; but the potential of a single thought truly is infinite. 

Namaste~
Tammie