chasing sylvia beach

Meeting One of My Inspirations– A Memory I’ll Forever Treasure

cynthia and barb

 Meeting an inspiration of mine, writing coach and author Cynthia Morris

This morning I sit at my desk feeling so emotional.  Last night I met writing coach and author, Cynthia Morris. She is promoting her debut novel, Chasing Sylvia Beach and made an appearance in Milwaukee, WI at the Lyndon Sculpture Gardens.

It was in 2005 that I was introduced to Cynthia’s work. I was coaching with life coach, Diane Krause-Stetson at the time. I was 41 years old and trying to figure out what it was I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to do something more meaningful. I wanted to live with more joy. I wanted to find my authentic self and not be afraid to be that person.

Coaching was not easy. But it was worth every minute of the deep dive into my soul’s stirring. Trying to narrow down and focus on something that would bring me what I was seeking was challenging. I think as women, at least among my circle of friends, we tend to like to do so many things!  But as I went through the coaching process, dogs and animals kept surfacing, and my deep love for them. Then writing surfaced for many different reasons.

It was then, with the help and encouragement from my coach that I decided to pursue writing and write about what I love most– animals, with an emphasis on dogs. It was then that Diane loaned me a book from her extensive and beautiful library called, Create Your Writer’s Life by Cynthia Morris. I’ve followed Cynthia’s work enthusiastically since that day. I’ve read all her e-books, taken some of her on line classes, been a part of her Creative Book Salon, and also participated in the Creative Leap Club she offers– which by the way I credit as a part of my process in helping me leap forward in finishing my new book.

Her tenacity for living her dreams and following her heart speaks to me. So to finally meet her in person last night was an absolute joy. It’s why I sit at my computer this morning feeling so emotional. I feel filled with so much inspiration to continue on my own path– to keep following my heart.  And the other way I can describe it is when you decide to pursue what makes your heart sing, by default, you attract into your life those much like you. Being around someone like Cynthia and her amazing energy of choosing to live life as she chooses is something that once you taste and experience it, you never want to go back to anything else.

How Do You Define a Big Life?

For a long time I thought living a big life was measured in how much money you made and the material things you had.  It seemed that living a “small” life then meant that you didn’t have much money or have many material things such as a big house, nice cars, many vacations, etc.

But I’ve come to realize that living a big life is about following your heart… even when things get challenging. John and I took a big leap of faith last March with our retirement funds, going against what society tells us and that we must never touch that money until we retire.  We made a choice that we felt was right for us in order to continue to fulfill what is important to us– his remodeling business and my writing and advocacy and passion for special needs pets.

I’ve also come to realize in the past ten years that now is all we have.  We can’t predict the future, nor can we spend every waking moment worrying about it.  That stress alone can quickly kill a person or have you living a life of fear.

I  recently finished reading the book Chasing Sylvia Beach by author Cynthia Morris. I was brought to tears with an unexpected lesson she shared towards the end of the book.  Her character, Lily was grappling with what another character said about her and that she lived a small life.  Lily wondered, How did one measure a life?  The number of people you touched? The amount of books you read? The money you earned?

I grappled with this same issue years ago.  Though I still can get caught up now and then in the views of society, I’m able to bring myself back much more easily to what is important to me in living how I define a big life.   Since Frankie has been gone, one of the things I have realized at the very core of what I really loved, was taking care of Frankie.  I could live without “things,” many vacations, etc., — but on the deepest level of how I felt my life was big, and what brought me the purest joy, was caring for her– and being there for her so she could live the quality life that she did.

The bottom line is that we each have to determine what it is for each of us that defines for us what a big life is. But no life is small.

I invite you to listen to this little video piece in a recent interview with Cynthia Morris and how she defines a big life.  I think you will be glad you did. And then think about how you define a big life… I’d love to hear your thoughts so please share!

Also, I invite you to check out a special guest post I did on Kathy Pooler’s Memoir blog called, “Evolving Spiritually Through the Love of Animals” and join in the heart warming discussion.  I’ll also be giving a way a copy of my book Frankie the Walk ‘N Roll Dog to one lucky person who leaves a comment on that post.

What is a Big Life?