A Citibank Life – Make yours An Extraordinary Life

After returning from my Saturday breakfast and my weekly chores I sat down for a bit to rest and watch a little television while everyone else was out or asleep from working the night shift. It was nice sitting watching the very light snow flurries and a warm fire going in the fireplace. I’m not usually one for commercials but one caught my eye and had me thinking.

Citibank credit card has a commercial about how they will help you write an amazing story into your life. Every time I see that commercial, I think, “but I want to write my own amazing life!” I’m a writer, why does someone else need to write anything for me?

Today that nagging little thought suddenly struck home in full force. I get to write my own story. Not just my own short stories and books, but I can write my own life as I want it to be.

What a concept for those even who do not write, think about it. As writers, we show human beings in their best and worst moments. We’re masters of plotting out events before they happen, of seeing the unique special and weird bits of life that most people probably never even consider.

I remember when I lived in Georgia there was this huge tree in a foggy field and maybe it’s just a foggy field with a huge tree the majority of folks. I looked at it and wonder what stories that tree had seen in its two hundred years of existence. From the Indians to the many weddings that had been performed under its large branches. There in the middle of an abandoned field in the middle of a Georgia farm field. I imagine all sorts of things that could have happened there, from the mundane to the grandiose and magical. (This is an actual tree by the way, saved by caring people as a highway was widened and development changed that field into a huge Wal-mart Super Center. It used to be a very surreal place in a town called Snellville)

Writers make it our business to understand people, to plot cause & effect, to study the underpinnings and meanings of life.

Simply put, I want to write my own story. The heroes of stories probably don’t think that their surroundings are all that unique. In Lord of the Rings, Elrond probably never gave a second thought to the power of the Elves; it was his life and the extraordinary Rivendell. Lincoln had an extraordinary life, but it was so ordinary in setting as to be almost depressing. It was the events of that life that made it spectacular.

We can let ourselves be swept along by life, rudderless and without plan or destination. We can struggle against everything that life throws at us catching at branches and rocks . . . determined to buck the trend and be our own person.

Or, we can pick up the pen & gently steer ourselves through life, making little notations here and there . . . taking a risk that has no apparent reward, making a leap of faith for something we’ve always wanted, and understanding that everything has its effect.

An extraordinary life is in the details . . . the same as an extraordinary story. So next time you find yourself feeling out of control, sit back and listen to a song that evokes some dream, or some memory. Give yourself grounding points, things to hold onto when the currents get a little rough. Build a home for yourself, in your own head, populated with the hopes and plans of a lifetime . . . because that’s the one thing no one can ever change or take away without your permission. Find joy in the moment under your feet right now. Live for the moment, and plan for eternity.

Write your own name . . . your own story . . . your own history. It’s your spectacular life out there don’t miss it waiting for someone else to write a best selling novel for you. No one can capture your voice better than you yourself.

Ice