I’ve been waging war.

(No, that isn’t a picture of me. It’s a picture my friend Michael O’Reilly took of his friend. He sometimes goes around Austin with a sword and asks strangers to pose with it. Really, and he gets some great pictures!)

But back to my story. I’ve been at war with the Dreaded Ivy Monster. This thing has overtaken my yard and covers huge bushes. It’s choking the life out of everything. And while I’m out there on the front line, hacking and pulling, I do a lot of thinking.

I can’t help but seeing symbolism in what I’m doing. I actually talked about this on the first post of my blog back in 2012. At that time I happened to be thinking about clutter. http://vpchandler.com/trim-away-the-dead/

But apparently fighting the DIM is good for my imagination. I recently told a friend who felt like she wasn’t making progress on her book,

“We have a vine that’s grown to be a monster. It’s taken over the flowerbeds and killed some of the bushes. Everyday I go outside and trim it and rip up parts of it out of the ground. Basically chipping away at the problem, but I’m getting results. I’ll take one tendril and pull on it. It’s amazing to see how intertwined it all is.

Every time I go out there I can’t help but compare working on it to writing and editing a book. I may spend anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour on it. But each time I see progress. Each time I’m unraveling a tendril, I’m unraveling a problem.”

 

As I say in the above quote, I’ve been editing my book, getting rid of unwanted and unnecessary stuff. So when I pull on a lonnng tendril that has creeped and wound its way through the bushes, it reminds of getting rid of unwanted story lines. Of course they weave their way through the book so I have to make sure everything makes sense when that’s gone! But it feels good when the extra stuff is hacked away.

Something else also popped into my mind yesterday, of course while fighting the DIM. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. Now I’m not a poet, but here’s what I was thinking.

 

Reach For the Light

What kind of vine are you? Are you a jasmine, a honeysuckle, English ivy, the stifling kudzu? I hope you aren’t the dreaded poison ivy or poison oak!

Whatever vine you are, search for the light that helps you grow.
Don’t stay in the dark humus, the decay of years past. That way stifles and rots your roots. It weakens growth and stunts your leaves.

No, search for the light.
If you have to twist your way among Life’s branches to go around obstacles, keep at it. Study your path, grow strong and use what you’ve learned to anchor yourself while you reach for the new, the sun, and see what Life has to offer.

 

(It’s not Emily Dickinson, but I like it.)

 

I’d also like to add that it’s rewarding to see how a few minutes here and there can produce results. So whatever you’re working on, whether it’s writing, gardening, painting, or what have you, a few minutes can make a difference. And while you’re pulling those weeds, let your mind wander. Who knows, you might find the answers to the questions you’ve been looking for or you might get a glimpse into the meaning of Life.

 

Does this happen to you? Do you get insights to your writing or life when you’re driving, washing dishes or doing other such work? Had any “aha!” moments? Share them with us!