June is bustin' out all over with a wild exclamation:
You're damned right I think I can dance!
And the quickstep--not the Boogie or the Moondance or the Foxtrot or the Buffalo Bop--is the spirit I choose now to bring to my quest. Speed, power, grace, wit and lively syncopation. It is sexy without being sweaty. It is high-charged without being forced. It is elegant without being frilly.
But I hear a voice at the back of the room:
'Uh, excuse me, dude, but what has all this got to do with the move to Seattle--or moving anywhere?'
Well, Middle Time is where we fail 99 times in 100. We love the rush of Starting Time, the charged relief of End Time. But here is where we start to hurt and doubt ourselves and drift: we don't have the time or strength to finish a long novel...we've failed to quit smoking too often before...we're too old/too poor/too fat...And--remember, now--Visualization: the more doubt in our heads, the less fire in our acts. Lack of confidence reaps still more reason to feel more uncertain.What we need is a form of spiritual bounce.
The bounce is the spring in the quickstep that sees you through to End Time without a care in the world. The bounce is the difference between you and all the sweaty pretenders: a bounce made up in equal parts of brio and insouciance. But--wait, is that anther voice from the back:
'Let's say I don't have the bounce. How do I feel something that I don't have? And how do I know when I do feel the bounce?'
All more easily than you might think, friend. You fake the bounce if you don't have have it. You become a Great Pretender--acting as if you already there, in Seattle, while you are in Charlotte...slugging away at your book or your quit as if it were already finished. Pretend long enough, and well enough, you'll soon not have a clue that you're faking. And no one has to tell you when you have the genuine bounce in your step.
So, come along now, month of June. Add more quickening to my steps! Bring me the bounce and the brio I crave as I slug away at the list of To Do's that stands between me and Seattle.
--Launch my new ebook, Charlotte Kills, and start the next book to bolster the sense of myself as a successful pro.
--Finish sorting all personal papers.
--Write letters to other Seattle book stores.
--Begin to draft letter for Craig's list to seek out a short-term Seattle room-mate.
--Make hotel and flight reservations for August visit.
--Follow up on my letter to Elliott Bay Book Company.
--Begin assembling all personal/professional/rental references.
The list goes on. But so do I with my chin up, back straight and a new bounce in my step. After all, the trophy is well worth the fight:
Hello, Seattle! Care to dance?
All more easily than you might think, friend. You fake the bounce if you don't have have it. You become a Great Pretender--acting as if you already there, in Seattle, while you are in Charlotte...slugging away at your book or your quit as if it were already finished. Pretend long enough, and well enough, you'll soon not have a clue that you're faking. And no one has to tell you when you have the genuine bounce in your step.
So, come along now, month of June. Add more quickening to my steps! Bring me the bounce and the brio I crave as I slug away at the list of To Do's that stands between me and Seattle.
--Launch my new ebook, Charlotte Kills, and start the next book to bolster the sense of myself as a successful pro.
--Finish sorting all personal papers.
--Write letters to other Seattle book stores.
--Begin to draft letter for Craig's list to seek out a short-term Seattle room-mate.
--Make hotel and flight reservations for August visit.
--Follow up on my letter to Elliott Bay Book Company.
--Begin assembling all personal/professional/rental references.
The list goes on. But so do I with my chin up, back straight and a new bounce in my step. After all, the trophy is well worth the fight:
Hello, Seattle! Care to dance?
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