This is the first day of the rest of your life. A trite sentiment, true, but still this attitude has kept me going through so many mini-disasters and disasters in my life. Where did this attitude come from? No idea. I grew up mainly with my mom, who lived in kind of a gray space which, I assume, signalled major depression. My dad, a very prolific writer and journalist, probably did have that attitude, but unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to know him well, due to my parents' divorce, in part.

Still, I picked it up from somewhere. It has been instrumental in helping me to survive serious car accidents, my own divorces, job "failure," moral indiscretions that led to much remorse, crushing debt, rejections by publishers, homelessness, etc.

I keep going, I seek out a new pathway to fulfillment, I keep writing, I study Taoism, I find new venues to share my work. Depression is not my problem, but mania sometimes is, and that's why I take medication to alleviate the problem.

My life is much, much more stable today. Still, there are frustrations, and challenges, and tough things to work out. Naturally. If there were no challenges, life would be incredibly boring.

I think that accepting my Bipolar Disorder and pursuing treatment and sticking with it has been enormously beneficial in righting the ship. Still, it took years for me to stand on truly level ground. Recovery does not happen overnight. In a sense, it is a lifetime process.

The study of Taoism has also played a pivotal role, though by itself it did not have the power to save me from myself.

Each day I start out by journaling at my favorite coffee shop. Sticking to that pattern is extremely important. I engage in a kind of prayer, set forth things to do, write down creative ideas, read the paper. Without that routine, I think that I could sink into my own version of "gray fog," emotionally.

When I hit a wall, I have somehow learned to step back and find a way to go around it, if the wall cannot be surmounted.

As far as writing is concerned, it continues to happen for me every day, and thankfully I have discovered a few venues, like OS and the Asheville Citizen-Times and USA Today, where I can share my thoughts. For me, if writing does not have some potential impact on others, it is worthless. That's how I feel about it. of course, I have other writing ambitions that I am not giving up on.

Life can be incredibly complex and disturbing. Witness the political situation in America, the danger of right-wing extremism and the need to speak out against this threat and take action. Well, writing is a form of action. Witness the complexities of family life. My marriage is strong, but of course there are some serious bumps in the road when you consider the extended family, for example. Then there is age discrimination to deal with (I am 67), as I seek out a part-time job as a counselor for the fall. And there is age discrimination in the publishing world, as well. It is something to be faced. It is something to be overcome, if possible. But hiding in a corner is not the answer, for me anyway.

This is the first day of the rest of your life. A trite saying, perhaps. But a vital aspect of personal growth and productivity.