THE CHILDREN'S BOOK ACADEMY
  • Home
  • WRITING
    • Mastering Great Graphic Novels >
      • 2023 Mastering Graphic Novels Registration
    • Craft & Business of Writing Childrens Picture Books
    • The Chapter Book Alchemist
    • New!! Middle Grade Mastery Instant Access
    • 2022 Kidlit Palooza >
      • 2022 Palooza Program
      • 2022 Palooza Faculty
  • ILLUSTRATION
    • NEW!! Craft & Business of Illustrating Children's Books Instant Access
    • Never a Dull Moment Workshop
  • TECH
  • About Us
    • Why Us?
    • Meet the Faculty, Lives & GT Judges
    • Testimonials
    • Books by Students
    • Our Bookshop
    • As Seen In
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
  • Blogfish
  • MN Course Access
  • Community
    • Our Bookshop
    • Come Play With Us!
    • Resources
    • Course Scholarships >
      • Yuyi Morales Picture Book Scholarship
      • Andrea Davis Pinkney MG CB Mastery Scholarship
      • Rafael Lopez Illustrating Childrens Books Scholarships
      • Larissa Marantz Merit & Need Scholarship

Being is Enough by Marsha Diane Arnold

5/12/2016

7 Comments

 
Picture
Recently, I’ve been dealt a few blows along life’s paths, both personally and professionally. My mother had a stroke a month ago and is still recovering. It’s a struggle. Events like this make us consider what is important in our life, in each day of our life. Professionally, I felt completely knocked off the writing path when a manuscript an editor wanted to buy and highlight will now never see the light of print. That’s all I’ll say about that, except that events like this can make you wonder about the path you’ve chosen.

As I pondered (“weak and weary”) these events along with what to share with you this month, I came across a poem I wrote while high in the Sierra Nevada. After the events of the past two months, it resonated strongly.
​
Oh, to be a Foxtail Pine,
Content in its Aloneness.
Never to feel devalued or ignored
Never needing to speak with words
Never to require an audience
Yet Knowing, deep within its roots, it has value
Knowing, as branches hold the sky, Silence also has her words
Knowing, it has been called with joy from All Embracing Love, as a Gift,
To be here.
And Being is enough.

Picture
​As writers and artists we often work in solitary, “in aloneness.” It isn’t uncommon for our efforts to be ignored or devalued. Even the best of us are rejected, over and over again. Some of the strong ones spring back quickly. Others, more fragile, take awhile to lift themselves from the ground.

I wrote that poem in August 2008, when I was honored to be one of seven artists invited to “Artists in the Back Country,” sponsored by California’s Sequoia National Parks Foundation. We trekked 12 miles to our camp, which was at 11,000 feet. The year before, Gary Snyder, the Pulitzer Prize poet, had christened our base camp, "Foxtail Camp" in honor of its amazing foxtail pines.  These are rare trees that grow mostly in the southern Sierra Nevada at high altitudes.  Some foxtail pine are thousands of years old.  They take a long time to get started, though.  At 5 to 10 years old a foxtail pine is only about a foot tall. They surrounded our camp, like Guardians.  We felt safe with them. 

The goal of the “Artists in the Back Country” program is to rekindle the American tradition of enhancing, through the arts, public awareness and appreciation for our national parks and natural world. We were to come down from the mountains and share our experience with others. Although I spoke about my time in the Sierras at a conference and shared with schools my “Artists in the Backyard” program, I never felt that I fully did my duty. 
Picture
The manuscript I mentioned above was about nature so it’s doubly sad to me that it will never be published, not by a publisher and not by me. It was a darn good manuscript. But in the back of my mind, a small voice whispers, “You can do even better. Sit down and write. Write the stories you promised when you were part of  ‘Artists in the Back Country.’ Write the stories that call to you, even if they don’t call to anybody else.”
​
Watching and loving animals all my life, I’ve noticed that they don’t really understand the word “no.” Instead they’re always wondering what to do next, looking for a solution. Spending summers with my grandparents in Colorado, I waded in many mountain streams. It’s the same with streams. The water approaches a big rock, but it doesn’t say, “Oh, no. Stop!” It keeps moving, looking for a way around, following its intention. It’s no different with children when they play. They are always moving, trying one thing after another.  They understand innately that stopping gets them nowhere.
 
So be content in your aloneness as you create your magic. But then rise up like the stately foxtail pine and show the mountains what you’ve got. You have magic to share.
 
The fragile one is rising. Rise up with her.

Picture
Marsha Diane Arnold is the award-winning author of twelve books that have sold over a million copies.  Her most recent book A Welcome Song for Baby portrays a young girl sharing the sounds of the seasons with the baby in her mother's womb. It'a available in the UK and at http://amzn.to/1VVbVOt 
Marsha's popular Character-Driven online Course can be found at http://www.childrensbookacademy.com/writing-character-driven-stories. - 

7 Comments
Carrie Pearson link
5/13/2016 04:29:10 am

Nature always reminds me of what really matters in life, what is constant and yet, always changing. Thanks for sharing.

Reply
Marsha link
5/14/2016 08:39:25 am

Nature is my constant in a crazy world. Thanks for sharing, Carrie.

Reply
randy berg link
5/13/2016 12:34:29 pm

It is more than a little strange how you find the words you need when you least expect them and you aren't looking for them.
Thank you... I needed what you wrote here.
Randy B.

Reply
Marsha link
5/14/2016 08:40:13 am

So glad, Randy. Nice to see you here.

Reply
Randy Berg link
5/13/2016 12:34:54 pm

It is more than a little strange how you find the words you need when you least expect them and you aren't looking for them.
Thank you... I needed what you wrote here.
Randy B.

Reply
Randy Berg link
5/13/2016 12:35:15 pm

It is more than a little strange how you find the words you need when you least expect them and you aren't looking for them.
Thank you... I needed what you wrote here.
Randy B.

Reply
Jane Heitman Healy link
5/16/2016 06:50:57 am

Wow, Marcia, this really speaks to me today. Thank you for sharing. The water in the stream slowly erodes the rock that stands in the way. Let's keep going. :)

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Meet the Friday Blogonauts

    First Fridays will feature Bryan Patrick Avery, published writer , man of mystery, and professional magician among other things.

    Second Fridays will feature  awesome multi-award winning author Marsha Diane Arnold who will be writing about character-driven and/or nature-based books and/or anything she likes :)

    Third Fridays
    will feature independent Aladdin/Simon & Shuster editor Emma Sector who has helped bring many books into the world.

    Fourth Fridays will feature the great Christine Taylor-Butler who has published over 70 award-winning fiction and non-fiction and nonfiction books including the acclaimed new middle grade series - The Lost Tribes.

    Fifth Fridays will feature the fabulous Carl Angel award-winning multi-published Illustrator and graphic designer.


    Join our Tribe

    and receive 7 Steps to Creative Happiness, access to free webinars, and lots more!

    Your email addresses are always safe and respected with us.
     
     

    Follow our Blog!

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Archives

    January 2019
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

    Categories

    All
    Art Technique
    Authorartist
    Author Platform
    Author Visits
    Bitsy Kemper
    Book Marketing
    Books For Children
    COPPA
    Creative Flow
    Digital Books
    Diversity In Children's Books
    First Voice Multicultural Children's Books
    Illustrating Your Own Story
    Independent Publishing
    Magic In Books
    Marketing
    Maya Gonzalez
    Middle Grade Novels
    Picture Books
    Picture Books And Death
    Print-on-demand
    School Visits
    Self-publishing
    Understory
    Writer Platform
    Writing
    Writing Exercise
    Writing For Children

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
Picture
Discover
Why Us?
Courses
Blogfish
Book Shoppe
About Us
Meet the Academy Faculty
Community
Contact Us

Privacy Policy
Join Us
Social Media
Join our Community and receive a fabulous free gift, yummy newsletters, scholarship info, contests, and more!

Like us on Facebook 
Join our interactive FB Group  
Find us on Twitter 
Follow us on ​Instagram  
Look for us on Pinterest
​
Watch us on YouTube
© 2012-2021  All content on this website is copyrighted. Sorry, all courses are non-refundable.
  • Home
  • WRITING
    • Mastering Great Graphic Novels >
      • 2023 Mastering Graphic Novels Registration
    • Craft & Business of Writing Childrens Picture Books
    • The Chapter Book Alchemist
    • New!! Middle Grade Mastery Instant Access
    • 2022 Kidlit Palooza >
      • 2022 Palooza Program
      • 2022 Palooza Faculty
  • ILLUSTRATION
    • NEW!! Craft & Business of Illustrating Children's Books Instant Access
    • Never a Dull Moment Workshop
  • TECH
  • About Us
    • Why Us?
    • Meet the Faculty, Lives & GT Judges
    • Testimonials
    • Books by Students
    • Our Bookshop
    • As Seen In
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
  • Blogfish
  • MN Course Access
  • Community
    • Our Bookshop
    • Come Play With Us!
    • Resources
    • Course Scholarships >
      • Yuyi Morales Picture Book Scholarship
      • Andrea Davis Pinkney MG CB Mastery Scholarship
      • Rafael Lopez Illustrating Childrens Books Scholarships
      • Larissa Marantz Merit & Need Scholarship