Get Up

Have you ever felt the call of the warm bed too hard to resist in the early hours of dawn? Trust me, we've all been there. But consider this, and bear with me as I bring to light an ancient perspective from none other than Marcus Aurelius, a Stoic philosopher, and Roman emperor.

He says:

"At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: 'I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I'm going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?'"

Now, replace "human being" with "author", and the message becomes particularly pertinent.

The world outside your cozy blankets may seem harsh, but remember, just as the birds, ants, spiders, and bees each have their tasks, so do you as an author. You were born to create, to share your stories, to breathe life into characters, to weave magic with your words. Isn't that what you're truly yearning for? So, why not run toward fulfilling this inherent nature of yours?

"But we have to sleep sometime…" you may argue. And indeed, you do. Sleep, rest, recreation are all essential. But, as Aurelius reminds us, nature set limits on these. And if we are honest with ourselves, more often than not, we find ourselves overindulging. The balance shifts unfavorably, and we find ourselves writing less and dreaming more.

Our aim, then, is to understand this balance, to awaken to the possibilities of a new day, and to seize the opportunities to express ourselves through our writing. And if we manage to push past the comforting lull of sleep to embrace our natural role as authors, just think of the worlds we could create.

So, as dawn breaks today, may you rise with a renewed sense of purpose. Pick up your pen, open your laptop, and pour out your soul onto the page. Remember, you are an author, and this is the work you were created to do.

-Andrew

The Indie Author Method