"Mark’s decision to walk and talk each day to a disparate group of friends, family, business colleagues, romantic interests, and just plain folks can be viewed as either vanity or generosity. Musings began like this…a plan to get outside and walk each day, to turn off the phone, to connect with nature, to exercise body and brain. But he also imposes this daily discipline upon himself to exercise the craft of writing. Writers write. As Mark connected with nature, stilling his often frenetic energy and absorbing the subtle shifts and nuances of nature, there is less observation of distractions, and more musings.
It is said that when a human being is deprived of one of the five basic senses, the others are heightened in a compensatory effort. Mark cannot smell. But he has a heightened sense of compassion, humor, awe, and inquisitiveness. That he chooses to share this with his musing pals is a daily treat." - K.T. . . . friend, mentor, fan
Not all friends enlighten, but the good ones lighten - a day, or the sky or your load - they always do.
One of the most rewarding experiences produced from pouring myself on a page has been the feedback I get, sometimes in a flood but more often as a steady trickle of 'nice', 'great', 'well done' salutations but I must admit the ones I live for are the ones where someone tells me a profound story of how something I wrote was a trigger for them - a life altering change of mind or direction, a solution to a problem or of peace made with someone.
These don't come every day but they come often enough to realize that my work matters in some ways to some people. My writing career is, as I look back, a mid life thing. As I look forward it is clearly a 'rest of my life' passion.
I write for my audience - of course - that is what I do, but the 'why of it' is more complex. It lives in my belly, in my soul if there is such a thing - but I feel this need, desire, compulsion to do what it takes to grow by learning and I learn best by writing. If my learning, my pouring it all out on a page, helps someone other than me, that is a happy bonus.
