Poetic License

"Never, ever, let the truth stand in the way of a good story." I don't remember which Seminary Professor it was who said that, it could have Bill Tuck in Preaching class ... or maybe Clyde T. Francisco who could really tell stories in his Old Testament class... it could have been somebody else. I just remember hearing it. It's when something happens and with each telling and re-telling, the story gets better. Elements are exaggerated or diminished, perhaps our ability to say it just gets better, but stories take on a life of their own. It's like that game where people sit in a corner and someone whispers in the ear of the person next to her. That person repeats the it to the person beside him. When the statement makes its way around the circle, it's usually something completely different. "The liberty taken by an artist or writer in deviating from conventional form or fact to achieve a desired effect," is the definition of Poetic License. Hmmmm ..... Deviate from conventional form or fact? Hell Yeah! That's how I live my life! I take lots of poetic license. Sure sometimes I lie to myself but ... most of the time I deviate from what's expected of me ... conventional forms and facts ... rules and regulations ... preconceived notions and the preponderance of evidence ... so that I may achieve the desired effect. It's all about our desired effects, isn't it? In addition to painting another bedroom in our house, I'm also painting over the canvas of my life. Previous landscapes of who I've been were glorious paintings ... long haired, high school jock with a guitar ... starting a family in college while excelling in extra-curricular activities (lots of them) ... Seminary student in trouble ... Radical Minister in Blue Jeans ... Home Missionary ... Public Speaker ... author ... CEO ... there have been lots of things in those old paintings of who I was. Now I am writing again, often deviating from conventional form or fact ... and often not. Living at the beach which remains constant yet changes little every day, like our old house becoming a new one, defying form or fact. Children who moved on into their lives remain present though they're not actually here... yet there are new children too. Talking on the phone yesterday with Tom Kohler, for a second I stepped back onto one of those old canvases of who I used to be. It was good and felt I was slipping into an old comfortable shoe. The thing is ... I don't wear shoes anymore. Maybe when I run. Or give a speech. But the desired result is that I don't wear them anymore and keep my toes in the sand and my arm around Sarah as we figure out how to continue financing this Beach Bum life. Truth often gets in the way. There are bills to pay. People to see. Things that must be done. Demands made. The truths of life. Well ... I refuse to let truth stand in the way of a good story ... the story of my life. I've got this desired effect I'm enjoying every day and very much looking forward ... to enjoying it more ... as I take poetic license ... with myself.