Day 3: Living the Adventure – Mini Memoir Series: Trust the Soup

Trust the Soup

By: Susan Deborah Schiller

When Steven Pressfield, author of "Do the Work" says "trust the soup" he invites us to let go of our need to control our work-in-progress.

As memoir writers, our job is to stir the pot, adding ingredients and spices, and then serving it to our intended audience – the people who need and want what you have to share.

Stirring the Soup

Writing a memoir is messy business, yet delicious! As it simmers in the forefront and back burners of your mind, the fragrant aroma tantalizes your memory, causing you to remember even more.

I call this journey, "On the Way Home," because it's like we are remembering not just our present life, which is like a dream, but where we really come from – home with our Papa God.

We are eternal creatures, and in some mysterious way, according to Paul in Ephesians 1, we were known by God before the foundations of the earth! He set aside everything we would need to complete our earth mission, even BEFORE the foundations of the earth were laid in place!

We see through a mist, this mystery we call God and the place we came from, but the beautiful truth is that this very act of REMEMBERING, helps us to become our true selves and to rise up to our full potential as human beings.

Trust the Soup

There will be "good" and "bad" days, but in reality, all days are simply days of grace. The BEST writers confide to us that 9 out of 10 days they feel they have written poorly. But we live for the 10th day! That day when our 10 percent is brilliant. We just keeping adding to the soup, whether we think it's good, poor, or brilliant.

Be prepared to hit delete – more than you like. Be prepared to hate what you've written – more than you wish. Be prepared to love what comes out of this adventure!

Learn to trust the soup, as Steven Pressfield, calls the art of writing. It's the PROCESS – what I call the adventure – that creates your final product. It's just going to be what it is. And you need not make any apologies! You are writing from your heart and just being real. Don't be afraid you might offend someone. You probably will.

Write to heal. Write to move forward. It's your right to be real, to be well, to be whole.

Everybody is a story. When I was a child, people sat around kitchen tables and told their stories. We don't do that so much anymore. Sitting around the table telling stories is not just a way of passing time. It is the way the wisdom gets passed along. The stuff that helps us to live a life worth remembering. ~Remen

Today is simply a day to relax, to remember, and to relate to yourself as a writer. Give yourself permission to speak. Don't try to write like anyone else. Don't worry about right and wrong or how other people say it should be done, including me.

Your activation: What would you say, what would you write, if you were granted permission to share what is foremost on your heart? You might recall your "why" from Day 2's activation.

Trust the soup. Let go of the need to control your words. Give yourself permission to speak your truth, even your voice shakes.

For the next few activations, we're going to wander around in the shadowlands. I wanted to give you a heads up on that, because I also want you to know we're just passing through. This is a journey into your past – into some of those dark places that need a light. We're going to restore some of the missing pieces. But, more about that later!

This is a gentle simmer, not a boil… and there will be no fear, no shame, and no control.

It's kind of like today's weather, here in Montana. Yesterday we had thick, gray skies and snow. Today we have a deep cerulian vault overhead that makes me feel as if outer space is touching my backyard.

Joy arises when the Light returns!

So today you should have:

• A file (offline or online) for your photos, writings, essays, quotes, ideas, stories, etc.
• A sense of your "why" – why you want to write a memoir and who your intended audience will be.
• Permission granted to use your authentic voice, to speak, even if your voice shakes!

I'll see you in a couple days with a journey into the LIGHT – places where you were SHINING as a child!

Living the adventure and choosing love today,

Sue

PS  I love hearing your stories and smelling the aroma of your soup, so do feel free to share, anonymously, privately, or in the comment section below! If you landed here apart from the mini memoir e-course, you're welcome to check it out at Living the Adventure: My Mini Memoir!

Susan Schiller knows how it feels to lose everything: marriage and family, church and reputation, finances and businesses, and more. Susan's upcoming, interactive memoir, "On the Way Home," tells the story of how she came to be known as "the most abused woman" her counselors had yet met and how she learned to navigate her way out of hell to a rich and satisfying life. In her lifetime, Susan has served in duties ranging from home school mom – to pastor –  to full-time deliverance minister – and to Midwest regional prayer coordinator for a large international ministry. These days you can usually find Susan soaking in her favorite hot springs pool, reading a book (or several), blogging, baking bread, or hanging out with her family and friends. You can get a free copy of Susan's upcoming book, "On the Way Home" by registering here.

Copyright 2010-2014, Susan Schiller, http://TeamFamilyOnline.com. For reprint permission for any private or commercial use, in any form of media, please contact Susan Schiller.

Tagged as: Choosing Love Today, Create Your World, Deborah White Dove, Getting Your Life Back