Thursday Thoughts: Universal Baby Steps

Ahhh, baby steps. I remember those first tentative stumbles in life–real and imagined. Baby steps are how we learn to walk. How we learn to interact with people. How we write books. Or at least that’s how I do it. Baby steps. A “what if?” A character. Another character. A situation. A scene. A chapter. Another chapter. A plot. More characters. And when I type “The End,” I hope I’ve created magic. And it sounds like the Universe, as always, understands.

You don’t take “baby steps” for the distance they cover, Silver, but to put yourself within reach of life’s magic.

Just like you don’t hoist your sails to move the boat, but to put yourself within reach of the wind.

Hoist, baby, hoist, baby, 1, 2, 3, 4 –
The Universe

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Just like you don’t sing in the car to be heard, Silver… Why do you do that?

And true story… I’m driving home from work one day when I worked a day job and stopped at a busy intersection waiting for the light to change. I’m in the left lane of a four-street, and there are left turn lanes. The song “We Are Family” comes on the radio. Now, who can resist singing that song, alone in the car, rocking out? Not me! So I’m singing (windows rolled up!) and rocking. I look over. Mama in the turn lane is rocking and singing, teenage son is trying to hide in the passenger seat. Our eyes meet, I roll down the window, and we harmonize the chorus. I look in my rearview and the Yuppie mom in her Mercedes SUV with toddler and baby in carseats in the back and a yappy dog in her lap, is singing the next verse. And rocking out. Much to her toddler’s amusement. I glance around. The middle-aged man in the car on my right is singing, as are the teenagers in the car in the opposing turn lane. EVERYBODY IN THAT INTERSECTION WAS SINGING! And that’s why I sing the car, Universe.

Go forth and sing with the world people. Just sayin’…