the beauty of small tasks

“I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief
duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.”
Helen Keller

When I was young, in my 30’s, 30+ years ago, home raising my 3 babies, and writing every spare second, I imagined the great writing I would do, the best-selling author I would become, making a lot of money, standing up before crowds accepting awards, standing at a podium doing readings, in book stores doing book signings. Oh gracious, the life I imagined for myself was huge. Not so unusual for someone in their 30’s. Today I am 64. I have lived through things I would not have imagined that I could have survived. I have given up on my youthful dreams, unable to even imagine, a year or so ago, how I could survive and go on at all. Today I am in a place where it feels as though the pendulum in my life has swung wildly from the right to the left and finally come to settle in a peaceful place in the middle. I am no longer looking for the great and noble tasks, I am revelling in the small tasks because, finally, I know that they are the ones that matter most, at least to me.

Tonight I am teaching the second Sunday Night Writing Group. Last week, in our first one, I knew that I had found what I have been looking for for years. I found a way to do my work in the world in a way that matters, both to me and to others. I found a way that I might both be of service and serve my soul. It is not earth-shattering. It is a gentle gathering of people who come together on Sunday nights to write and share pieces of themselves with one another. It is a time to sit with our notebook and pen and travel across the vast expanse of the notebook page for 2 hours and find our way back home to ourselves. And then we close our notebooks, say goodnight, and go back into our lives. No crowds, no awards, no book signings, no vast fortune made from writing best-sellers, but the knowledge that for 2 hours we have done something that might stand those with us in good stead throughout the week ahead. Perhaps, in showing up and teaching this class each week, I will have made someone’s way a little easier, at least for a time. I’m not sure there is anything I could do in my life that could mean more than this.

This morning I was up by 9. I had been awake for some time but dozing because it was absolutely pouring, it has been raining daily for so many days I’ve lost count, and the dogs were snuggled up to me sound asleep. I knew they would not go out in the rain. Finally at 9 it sounded as though it had stopped, or at least slowed down. I didn’t know if we would get another break anytime soon. I got the dogs up and out, thankfully it was only sprinkling and they went. I got them their breakfast, Pugsley pug got his medication, I made coffee, and sat down here at my desk. Sunday, it’s Sunday, I thought. I teach tonight.

I picked up my notes. 14 pages. (Big print for easy reading.) I have gone through them a few times since I first printed them out. I am not a casual teacher, I write detailed outlines. These classes are free for anyone who would like to join us, on a donation basis only, but I tell people “Don’t let the ‘free’ fool you. These are hard working classes.” And they are. I pulled my notes up on the screen and, referring to all the hand-written notes I had made on the original pages printed out a couple of days ago I revised the outline and printed it out again. Yes, I thought, this is right. I will go through them again and highlight key elements once more, but I am ready. These small tasks matter too. They move me through the days.

I have just talked to my daughter Rachel on the phone. So sweet to hear her voice. She has a busy day with her family and was out grocery shopping. She will be coming here tomorrow night and we will have dinner and watch a movie. These are some of my most treasured times. I will be writing a new “700 word story” in the next couple of days with my dear friend Katya with whom I have been writing stories this summer. I love this so much. The return to writing fiction is opening up whole new possibilities in my mind. There are stacks of books all around me filled with possibilities for class material for the weeks ahead. I will be reading and writing the outlines. I am amazed that at only the 2nd week 25 people have signed up. Not all will show up but a good many will. Small tasks, many hearts, daughter and friend and students, writing and teaching, whole new unexpected possibilities, I am accomplishing a lot. Enough. Enough for me.

If you are interested in joining us on Sunday nights please send me an email to: TheSundayNightWritingGroup@gmail.com. I am going to be using a MailChimp list to send out information about the group and I must have your written permission to add you to the list. Simply say “Please add me to the list” and give me the email address you would like to use plus tell me why you would like to join the group. This extra step is a security measure. For more information about The Sunday Night Writing Group click on the link herein.