It’s said if you keep doing the same thing you can expect the same result. Makes sense.
As much as our past determines where we are, our future is determined by what we do next.
The next call.
The next purchase.
The next email.
The next good nights sleep.
The next business you start, or promotion you ask for.
The next *insert action here*
Saturday night, I had three friends over for cocktails. One noticed the paperback book of poems on an end table. We started discussing poetry, and she shared an incredible story.
On a train to NYC she was reading a book of African poems. A fellow passenger was looking for an aisle seat. She offered the one next to her. The plainly-dressed man took the seat, expressing gratitude. Ends up, the man was one of the poets in the book.
Back to the party. Three of the 4 people present agreed they hadn’t written poetry since grammar school…while also agreeing that poetry is one of the purest forms of expression. I shared the fact that I got the free daily poetry emails from the The Paris Review…which I re-read about half the time.
I thought about the fact that I had starting reading those poems. Then, I thought about the 6-week writing workshop I took last year, and the assignment to write a poem. It ended up in the paperback anthology book.
My friend exclaimed: You hadn’t written a poem in years, starting reading poems, then wrote only one poem, and it won a poetry contest!
Yes. Seems logical and unbelievable at the same time. But my curiosity to explore collided beautifully with opportunity. Choosing an unlikely, yet authentic next move, led me to something deeply fulfilling.
What will you do next?
This blog is originally published in Marilee's newsletter.
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