Christian Author Donna Dawson

I still hesitate to admit that some of the choicest pearls of wisdom that I have gained have come from a toothless, four-legged rag mop.  Nevertheless, it is true.  One such lesson was learned this week.  Duke the Chihuahua has taught me the value of poor choices and yes, it can carry over to our writing.

Duke thought it was candy floss.  He was certain that he would get that sugary high that comes from hoovering down on the cast offs of some little kiddy's mishap.  But it wasn't candy floss.  It was fiberglass pink insulation.  I'm sure that his tastebuds received a bit of a shock but our canine friend threw caution to the wind and gulped it down anyway.  What followed was a day of discomfort and dose after dose of castor oil--and a number of trips to the outdoors.  By day's end, Duke had learned his lesson well--that not all candy floss is made of sugar.  As he recouped it got me to thinking.  How often do we do this kind of thing as writers?  Garbage in--much pain--and garbage out.

I began to ruminate over the books I read.  Light.  Fluffy.  Entertaining.  Some are adequate but few are actually nourishing to my writing.  Of late, I have been getting the equivalent of a tummy ache in the ideas portion of my brain and wondered why.  Maybe I was consuming too much fiberglass instead of true nourishment. 

As I petted pour Duke, his head nestled on my lap and the bug eyes possitively popping with a silent plea for sympathy, I came to the realization that I can be a coaster (no not the kind that sits on your coffee table and sops up droplets of spilled coffee).  I had become satisfied with letting someone else learn for me.  They were finding the true nutrients of life, processing them and giving me a condenced version--and I had been content with that.  I had learned to listen to teachers and believe their words to be true because they said so.  I had learned to read fiction and believed their 'facts' to be real because the author said so.  I had learned to sit in church and believe the interpretations to be from God's word because the pastor said so.  But Duke's gastronomical bout with the faux candy floss has slam dunked my lazy mind.  It is time to get real food.

As a Christian, this has meant the opening up of my purchased copy of the Qumran scrolls.  I have a sudden desire to find out what the Bible actually DOES say--not what other people say it says.  I have a sudden desire to pull my old school texts off the shelf and see if one plus one really does equal two (that part hasn't changed).  And I have dusted off my writing texts from university and begun to pick them apart again.  (who says I can't use 'ly' words and why?)  I have begun to read the works of pulitzer prize winners to find out how they got where they are.  I am no longer content to hear it from others who have studied them.

Duke has learned a lesson about sniffing before chewing and in his painful experience he has taught me much about the value of discernment in what I put into my mind and heart.  Garbage in--garbage out.