“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” —Somerset Maugham

I read this on the blog, The Write Practice, and it rang of truth – well beyond writing.

There are three rules for living a spiritual life ….

There are three rules for loving your husband ….

There are three rules for surviving grief ….

There are three rules for living a joyful life .…

What struck me most was that I have been looking for rules to guide me for a long time.  Perhaps I have missed the whole point.  If no one knows the rules I could waste a great deal of time figuring them out (my default response to most things).  Or I could think of one small step toward any of those and simply take that step.  If I do that repeatedly I will be doing whatever it is that I wanted and I may never have figured out what the rules are.  What a paradox!

For today my small step for each of those will be:

See the spirit in whatever I am looking at

Think of him kindly and say, “Thank you, God!”

Write something that tells me what good will be here tomorrow

Go on my deck, raise my hands to the sky, smile, and say “What a glorious day!  Thank you for your songs, birds.”

No idea what the rules are that these actions fit into, but they feel right for today.  Tomorrow will be different.  I bet if I do this for a month I will be closer to living a spiritual life, loving my husband, surviving my grief, and living a joyful life!

Sounds like a plan!