Did I Just Say That?

Ken Mossman | July 22, 2022

I’m lucky to have several friends that date back to my high school – and even elementary school – days.

We’re in occasional touch and, with every short exchange, I feel slightly warmer, stand just a bit taller, and delight that time has treated our friendships well.

We’ve known one another for 50 years or more, which seems just plain crazy.

I mention all this for a couple of reasons:

First, the numbers are kind of fun…

Second, we’ve navigated enough of life to have little, if any, baggage left to unpack or otherwise deal with. That makes for a kind of baked-in honesty and reliability that simply makes things work.

I don’t know how else to describe it.

Because we’re human, there’s still room for surprises.

One of them, who just happens to have been my high school sweetheart, occasionally responds to my articles. She dropped me a message thanking me for my recent piece about forgiveness, and asking if I’d ever considered submitting some writing to mindful.org.

I wrote back, let her know I’d have a look, then said: “Ya know, I keep thinking it might be time to pull some of this stuff together and maybe even consider a book…?”

I came close to deleting that line because there’s something a bit scary about telling someone I know well – and who knows me just as well – that there’s something bubbling on the back burner…

Because that often leads to moving that thing to a front burner.

I added another line: “Oh goodness, I just typed that out loud!”

Then, stopping myself from over-thinking, I hit “send.”

Pamela quickly wrote back: “Absolutely a book!! It is time and this is needed. Let me know if you want to go over an outline of themes/topic etc.”

This, among many other reasons, is why having amazing life-long friends is a porcupine of a blessing. They know you well enough to know that they can slip up behind you and, with every ounce of love they possess, give you a good shove off the cliff. Or into the fire. Or off the 10-meter platform.

It all works.

Pamela, a writer herself, a holder of a degree in library sciences, and well-steeped in the mysterious, magical mechanics of The Book, knows a thing or two about how they work, about how they come together, about what it takes to produce one.

Aside from being busted – and receiving an offer of much-appreciated help – I’m also being called to take a good look at what comes next.

It’s hard not to notice that I’ve spent a good deal of time in conversation with published authors. I’ve interviewed a bunch of them for my podcast. At least five close friends and colleagues are either writing or have recently wrapped and published works of their own.

I’m of the school of thought that suggests, if you’d like to know a thing or two about who you are, take a gander at the circle around you.

I’m surrounded by authors.

How ‘bout that?

In all honesty, I have no idea where this is going to lead. I do know that, as the focus of my work grows ever clearer and I move forward with sharpening my brand, there’s no shortage of materials to draw from.