It’s In the Details

Recently, we stayed at a resort close to the Camelback Mountains, in Arizona. Unlike hubby, who was stuck in meetings all day, I was lucky enough to sit in a lounge chair by the pool and drink in the beauty of these magnificent hills.I sat in the same chair every day. Directly in front of me, “attached to the “head” of the camel, was an outcropping of rock called “The Praying Monk”.” Now, I have a confession to make. Even though I had been at this resort for close to a week, I didn’t see it – the praying monk, that is.

The mountain as a whole had my undivided attention, but I hadn’t bothered to take in the details.

For someone who likes to create shapes out of clouds, I was stumped. And then it hit me – the aha moment when all becomes crystal clear – and when I wasn’t even looking for it. I glanced up from my book and saw it. It was glaringly obvious. There he was, in all his glory: a monk. Head bowed, kneeling in prayer, a cloak covering his head.

After spending nearly a week here, why hadn’t I seen it before? And then it struck me. Just like the Praying Monk, epiphanies hit you with the suddenness of a lightning bolt, when you least expect them. At the moment you stop actively searching for the answers and allow the universe to provide them, crucial insights will surface.

There’s a divine order to these things, I think. Time and again, the perfect solution to a gnarly question falls from the sky: a perfect blending of the right place at the right time and our own ability to put the knowledge into action is all that’s required.

I still shake my head in wonder as I look at the photo of what was right in front of me.

In much the same way the key to moving forward with my novel sits right in front of me. I had allowed the mountain of paper on my desk to stifle my creative flow. All I could see was a vast expanse of white. Was this a novel? Novella?..or maybe a short story! The questions swirled in my head, but I no longer knew.

I couldn’t see what was smack dab in front of me.

Write. And keep writing.

The details will emerge when I get out of the way and simply allow my characters to tell their stories. I’m in the right place at the right time, and I’m more than willing to put this knowledge into action.