Dust off and get up

It’s just a simple little saying from a Halls cough drop, but I have it taped to the bottom of my computer monitor regardless. It states: “Dust off and get up.”

I remember I saved it because I liked it. When I substitute taught years ago, I had it taped to a piece of paper I put behind my name badge so that in trying times, I could look at it and try to calm my mind. Then I didn’t know about manifesting, but I was doing it regardless, especially when dealing with difficulties in that job. When I quit subbing, I save the paper, trimming it until only the little saying remained. I’ve kept it to this day.

It reminds me.

Yes, the metaphor reminds me of baseball. After all, the infield of course is dirt. Players slide into bases. Players dust off and keep going. “There’s no crying in baseball,” the famous quote states. When you are running the bases, there’s no quitting mid-base either. You just dust off and keep going.

As a creator, it’s easy to give up sometimes. When things don’t go your way, when the readers aren’t pouring in liked you hoped, when the people just aren’t interested in what you have to say or make or do, it’s far too easy to just say “I quit.”

But to dust off and keep going…. that is the real deal.

I have fifteen published works in my Portals Series, and aside from my few beta readers, which include my other half, I have only had ONE person read all of them. Another has read half of them and the others are in his “to be read” pile on his Kindle. I know of others who have read at least one or two works, mainly those whom I have given copies to. My reviews are slim pickings. My sales, quite frankly, SUCK. But regardless, I keep chugging away. I keep writing. I am not a quitter. And I have a story to tell, even if few will ever read it.

But that’s just part of the writing. I also have the immense joy of seeing the scenes that live inside my head come alive for other people as I put words to paper (or computer screen, as the case may be). Those who have read what I have done say I have a gift, that I am able to put into words certain emotions and visions that they can then see. Even these blog posts have been praised by the few that read them. I take some pride in knowing that I do have a small following of friends and even a couple family members who enjoy what I write.

As a result, I dust myself off and get up to try again when the doubts roll in. I dust myself off and get up again when I get told the plethora of criticisms that rolls in. I dust myself off and get up when I feel like no one is reading my story, because I still have a story to write.

So readers, if you are a fellow writer in my boat, keep going. Keep working towards whatever goal you’ve set. keep honing your craft. Keep sending letters and queries. Keep learning. Dust off and get back up.

If you aren’t a writer in my boat, but are struggling with something else, keep pushing. Keep going too. Work towards whatever goal you have in mind. Dust yourself off and keep going.

For whether we are writers or not, we all continue to write our own stories. We all find the magic in each and every day. We all have some sort of story to tell.

So dust off and get up. Then, keep going.

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If you wanted to see some of the fantasy works I have written, check out my Portals Series.

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And as always, #writeyourownstory