I am beyond delighted to introduce the brilliant, funny, insightful, wonderful, funny (I know I said that already but she really, really is funny) Liza Palmer as this week’s featured guest author. I love Liza Palmer’s books and am crazy about her newest novel, More Like Her, and I’ve asked Liza to write something special just for you, my readers. Lucky us!
IN PRAISE OF LIFE, LOVE AND BIRTHDAYS
“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?”
–Satchel Paige
I’m writing this blog post on my birthday. And as birthdays tend to do, they make one reflect on the year that’s just passed. Did I do enough? Did I make the most of my life? Did I live up to my endlessly rising expectations of what my life should be about? Why is it that we never seem to measure up during these moments of reflection? It’s the New Years’ Resolution Rule, right? Sure, you did okay – but next year try to do more, be better, get thinner and vow to be even more selfless. The Mantra of today’s woman, I suppose.
This past year I had a bit of a health scare. It was one of those moments – where the world slows down and I was floating above my body as some doctor told me I had cancer. HAD. They got it out – along with half of my thyroid.
The thing is my body and I haven’t gotten along for quite some time. But, earlier this year something happened. We fell in love. For the first time. It was my body and I joined and finally working as one. Connected. I was giving it what it wanted – instead of starving it and beating it into submission — and it was grateful. Patient. Loving. As ever.
Then the cancer hit.
Birthdays are the only day we get that’s just about us. Yet as we get older we brush them under the rug as this dark harbinger of aging and some kind of tolling bell of our lost youth. Birthdays aren’t about impending death.
Birthdays are about life.
Another year.
I propose that instead of using our birthdays to list all of the ways we came up short, all of the things we could have done better and all of the instances where we let ourselves (and others) down, we take the day to lavish ourselves with love, adoration and tenderness. Swaddle ourselves in the softness we save for others.
We get to be happy. We get to be loved.
I went to this workshop this past week where the person giving the lecture was talking about writing The Perfect Book. She said that we shouldn’t strive to write The Perfect Book, we should strive to write The Compelling Book. I think this transfers over to life as well.
Let’s stop trying to be perfect.
Let’s strive to be compelling.
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Liza, many, many thanks so much for joining us today. Readers and friends, you can find out more about Liza and her books on her website, http://www.lizapalmer.com.
For a chance to win an amazing prize–all four of Liza’s wonderful titles, including her newest, More Like Her, in a colorful summer tote bag perfect for the beach along with other fun goodies–talk to me about Liza’s blog. What do you think? Do you agree? I’d love to hear what you think (and if you’ve ever read Liza Palmer’s books before). Contest runs through Friday night, with the winner being announced Saturday morning. Best of luck, thank you Liza, and very happy summer reading!
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