Whatever my submission goals shake out to be in the coming year, whether or not a particular poem gets published is not something I control.
It’s my job to be learning and growing and sending things out. But then that’s where my work ends. I can’t manhandle editors into publishing my poems!
I first learned about this idea from the #AmWriting Podcast–an excellent listen all around. In Episode 140 they were talking about goals in the new year and mentioned this concept of things you control and things you don’t.
They weren’t advocating shirking responsibility or a lackadaisical approach. These writers are committed and driven. But they were advocating a clear headed look at where all that drive settles down into something deeper.
A softening, an open hand, the boat moving freely in the current.
Click here to see all the Listening to My Life :: Homeschooling an MFA in Poetry posts.
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