Pick me! Pick me! aka Lessons in laughing at myself :)

by Kayce Stevens Hughlett

When you're a writer in the self-awareness field, it's essential to have a sense of humor and be able to laugh at your own mistakes. This past weekend I was working to meet a deadline for the Amtrak Residency for Writers application. Diligently crafting a piece to complete the 1,000 word entry requirement, I lost myself in streams of ideas and reasons why they should pick me. Once I declared my creation "complete," I went back to the entry form and noticed the requirement was 1,000 characters not 1,000 words. Ha. Big difference! My own coach chuckled that obviously this was work I needed to do and I wholeheartedly agree. 

Today I share my "mistake" with you, because I believe dream-sharing is essential even if the audience is different than the one you originally intended. :)  

A woman of indeterminate age places two quarters on a railroad track and dashes back to her waiting friends. The four of them giggle and dance as the Amtrak train swiftly approaches. Covering their ears, they anxiously await the train to pass. Once the barreling sound fades into the distance, she dashes back to the tracks and picks up the warm flattened quarters. In her hands, she holds a lifelong fantasy. Today, another waits on the cusp…** 

I love adventures, stretching myself, meeting new people and exploring unknown terrains. As an author and professional group facilitator, my motto is this:

If you want a new perspective, then take a new seat.

What better way to put this into practice than through the windows of an Amtrak train!

This is my year of the pilgrim, the traveler, and the writer. It is time for me to take notice (and notes) of the roving life I’ve accumulated thus far. It’s the year for me to pause and ponder where I’ve been – literally and figuratively – and consider where I’m going. In November of 2013, I chose to participate in Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) for the second year in a row. This time, instead of writing a novel, I spent the 30 days amassing a manuscript for my travel memoir—a sojourn that begins with a little girl in Oklahoma and traverses across Europe, Africa, and into the Pacific Northwest.

In December of 2013, I was invited to write a review of a new work called, Pilgrim Principles which was followed up by a gig as artist-in-residence for the blog, asacredjourney.net.  This work elevated my love of travel musing to a new height. My upcoming dreams include leading a trip to Paris where we shall invite participants to take their souls for a stroll and, later in the year, a long-awaited journey back to the moors of Ireland. What is lacking in this work is time on the road in the United States. I am a simple woman who grew up with moderate means and every trip I’ve taken as an adult has been financed with creativity, passion, airline miles, and a modicum of luck.

My current musings include stories about traveling across Route 66 in the back of my parent’s Chevy during the 1960’s – although I was typically in a Dramamine-induced coma so missed much of the ride. Flying is, of course, expedient and allows my imagination to consider what it’s like to live inside a cloud or float weightless like Sandra Bullock in “Gravity.” Sailing brings its own magic and traversing the Sinai desert on the back of a camel is the ultimate in sloooow meditation. What is missing from my journals, however, is the luscious space of being on the ground and moving at a rapid speed while sinking into and connecting with my surroundings.  What is missing is a long-distance train ride!

I am a here-and-now kind of woman and I love bringing the present moment to life for others and myself. This is my year of the pilgrim, the traveler, and the writer. A few weeks ago, friends and colleagues started sending me the Amtrak Residency forms. “This is you!” they said. “Go for it! We want to hear what you have to say from a train.”

I, too, want to hear what I have to say from a train. I feel like it is the one mode of transportation that is lacking in my life. Short trips up to Bellingham or Vancouver BC from Seattle have been memorable, but my traveling legs long to stretch further across the country. I want to bring the USA to life through my words. I want to know what it’s like to roll for miles and miles with my pen and pad at the ready and new landscapes and traveling companions by my side.

I am ready to write. I am ready to roll. This is my year of the pilgrim and the Amtrak-in-Residency program is the ultimate stamp on my passport.

Pick me! Pick me! Pick me! says the little girl turned woman as she runs alongside the train track waving madly at the engineer. Pick me, please. You won’t be sorry!

**true story – December, 2013 & today

What dreams of yours are saying 'Pick me! Pick me!'?? Are you willing to take a risk to reach them? What holds you back? How can I help?

Please let me know how I can support you! I have two spaces available this season for individual coaching or in my signature on-line program, Live it to Give it.