Wrestling the Angel: Living Your Joy

March 20, 2006

Living Your Joy

Another key book in helping me decide to quit my job and make more time for writing was Suzanne Falter-Barns' Living Your Joy. A sequel of sorts to Falter-Barns' earlier book, How Much Joy Can You Stand?, this "practical guide to happiness" has many inspiring suggestions for making your dream come true, whether it be creating art, starting a business, or changing careers. Chapters such as "How to Moonlight without Losing Your Mind", "Creating Your Dream Studio", and "The Fine Art of Saying No" have really useful advice for how to stop talking about someday and maybe, and actually take steps towards achieving what you want to do.

I especially like this quotation: "The common perception of the average Jane these days is that there is never enough time to tend our dreams. Our already overstuffed days are jammed to the breaking point with things we absolutely must attend to. So how are we ever going to squeeze a dream in? In truth, we do, indeed, have time for our dreams. We just can't necessarily do this dream thing comfortably, easily, and effortlessly--without any inconvenience to ourselves."

Falter-Barns' story is pretty interesting in itself. Twenty-some years ago, she was writing advertising copy in New York City. Since then she's published a novel and two self-help books. Today she's writing coursework and blog entries on how to make your creative dreams reality.

I have a copy of Living Your Joy that I'd like to give away to a Wrestling the Angel reader. Leave a comment on this post and I'll pick a lucky recipient at random!

Posted by Alison at March 20, 2006 11:54 PM | This entry posted in: Getting the Writing Done

Comments

This sounds like a very important nook... and topic. Dreams are very important to me... although I not necessarily mean the sleeping dream kind :)
Thanks for sharing your booknotes!

-Martin

Posted by: Martin at March 21, 2006 09:30 AM

I've been listening to dharma talks lately, mostly from audiodharma.org. One I listened to yesterday talked about how the joy and peace we wish for others has to also include wishing joy and peace for ourselves. If we do not have joy in our own lives, we cannot act in ways which share true joy with others.

This is a slippery concept for me, but one that I know is a key to something much greater.

Thanks for your writing!

Posted by: Evelyn at March 21, 2006 01:51 PM

I had a dream 2 nights ago which was all about joy. For the previous week I had been in a struggle between my superimposed conscience (saying things like "You HAVE to do this!") and my...inner stubborn child, I guess, who was resisting with all her might. I didn't know where to turn. Then I had this dream which was so unmistakably about following my bliss, and the struggle dissolved. As I was walking to work later that morning a yellowed newspaper sheet lying on the sidewalk threw at me a huge headline: "FORGIVENESS". I will add that to the joy, I thought.

Posted by: Natalie at March 21, 2006 05:13 PM

I picked up The Artist's Way based on your recommendation, and I've been following it for about ten days now. While I may have a long way to go reach the level of productivity in writing I used to have, by the end of these twelve weeks, I hope to have recovered my creativity and found some inner peace. Thanks for writing these motivational posts... they keep me hopeful. :)

Posted by: Mariann at March 21, 2006 06:37 PM

"Tending my dream" for me comes down to choice. Joy too. Surprisingly enough, I think very few people choose joy. Our personal dramas provide us with a sense of identity. Leaving them behind requires a leap of faith -- scary!

Posted by: Marie-Josée at March 23, 2006 04:35 PM


Get Blog Posts by E-mail Enter your e-mail address Powered by FeedBlitz RSS Feeds Recent Entries Interview: Annette Gilson Interview: Justine Larbalestier The Elusive Agent Will Write for Chocolate Jane Jeong Trenka: Why She Writes Will You Quit? 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel Profile: Stanley Kunitz Writing from the Heart Memoir: Eat Pray Love Articles From the Stage to the Page An Interview with Annette Gilson	« Retreat into Writing \| Main \| Poetry Interlude » March 20, 2006 Living Your Joy Another key book in helping me decide to quit my job and make more time for writing was Suzanne Falter-Barns' Living Your Joy. A sequel of sorts to Falter-Barns' earlier book, How Much Joy Can You Stand?, this "practical guide to happiness" has many inspiring suggestions for making your dream come true, whether it be creating art, starting a business, or changing careers. Chapters such as "How to Moonlight without Losing Your Mind", "Creating Your Dream Studio", and "The Fine Art of Saying No" have really useful advice for how to stop talking about someday and maybe, and actually take steps towards achieving what you want to do. I especially like this quotation: "The common perception of the average Jane these days is that there is never enough time to tend our dreams. Our already overstuffed days are jammed to the breaking point with things we absolutely must attend to. So how are we ever going to squeeze a dream in? In truth, we do, indeed, have time for our dreams. We just can't necessarily do this dream thing comfortably, easily, and effortlessly--without any inconvenience to ourselves." Falter-Barns' story is pretty interesting in itself. Twenty-some years ago, she was writing advertising copy in New York City. Since then she's published a novel and two self-help books. Today she's writing coursework and blog entries on how to make your creative dreams reality. *I have a copy of Living Your Joy* that I'd like to give away to a Wrestling the Angel reader. Leave a comment on this post and I'll pick a lucky recipient at random!** Posted by Alison at March 20, 2006 11:54 PM \| This entry posted in: Getting the Writing Done Comments This sounds like a very important nook... and topic. Dreams are very important to me... although I not necessarily mean the sleeping dream kind :) Thanks for sharing your booknotes! -Martin Posted by: Martin at March 21, 2006 09:30 AM I've been listening to dharma talks lately, mostly from audiodharma.org. One I listened to yesterday talked about how the joy and peace we wish for others has to also include wishing joy and peace for ourselves. If we do not have joy in our own lives, we cannot act in ways which share true joy with others. This is a slippery concept for me, but one that I know is a key to something much greater. Thanks for your writing! Posted by: Evelyn at March 21, 2006 01:51 PM I had a dream 2 nights ago which was all about joy. For the previous week I had been in a struggle between my superimposed conscience (saying things like "You HAVE to do this!") and my...inner stubborn child, I guess, who was resisting with all her might. I didn't know where to turn. Then I had this dream which was so unmistakably about following my bliss, and the struggle dissolved. As I was walking to work later that morning a yellowed newspaper sheet lying on the sidewalk threw at me a huge headline: "FORGIVENESS". I will add that to the joy, I thought. Posted by: Natalie at March 21, 2006 05:13 PM I picked up The Artist's Way based on your recommendation, and I've been following it for about ten days now. While I may have a long way to go reach the level of productivity in writing I used to have, by the end of these twelve weeks, I hope to have recovered my creativity and found some inner peace. Thanks for writing these motivational posts... they keep me hopeful. :) Posted by: Mariann at March 21, 2006 06:37 PM "Tending my dream" for me comes down to choice. Joy too. Surprisingly enough, I think very few people choose joy. Our personal dramas provide us with a sense of identity. Leaving them behind requires a leap of faith -- scary! Posted by: Marie-Josée at March 23, 2006 04:35 PM	What is Wrestling the Angel? Your Host Alison Gresik has been crafting her writing life for the last fourteen years. She is the author of Brick and Mortar, a collection of linked stories. Visit her author blog at www.gresik.ca. Categories Apprenticeship Biography and Memoir Building a Writing Career Family and Friends Feeling Good Fiction about Writers Finding Your Material Getting the Writing Done Interviews and Profiles Making a Living Why Write? Writing Community Search this site:
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