“I’m writing a book.”
Or so I keep telling friends and family.
Except that it isn’t a book, but The Book. A major work, for me at least. The culmination of years of work and research and experience. The Book would be a monumental undertaking and a one-shot opportunity to say everything that I want to say, exactly how I want to say it, without leaving anything out.
When I write, I don’t do drafts. I write what comes out, and then I edit. And edit again. And re-work the editing. And then it sits for a few days, after which I go back to re-edit the re-edit. Over and over for hours, days, working to say exactly what I want it to say. A long process, but an end result that I can offer as the best of what I can offer. For a piece or two, this kind of time investment works. But for an entire book?! THE Book?!
Gulp.
I found the prospects not only dauting, but stifling at the same time. Waiting for the satisfaction of inspiration could take years of ups and downs with endless edits to boot. I don’t want to wait that long, nor should these ideas have to wait that long.
A website seemed like a good option. It lets me share what I want, when I want, without waiting for the whole project to be completed. I can update as I’m able and I can continue editing while still sharing it immediately for viewing. Suggestions from readers will likely help keep me moving forward with this project. And it can blast across the internet with the click of a button. For free!
I’ve never sold even one of my pysanky. I’ve had a few people insist on an exchange of money when they’ve commissioned eggs, so I’ve instead directed them to make a generous donation to a charity of their choice. Pysanky are prayers, and I can’t rightly charge money for prayers. So I give them away freely: a gift of love from one human heart to another. An offering of these talents-on-loan towards the ultimate purpose for which they were given.
Writing eggs, writing words: what’s the difference? If my purpose is to share perspective and experience, what more would a book do but bring with it a profit margin that I couldn’t and wouldn’t accept anyway? Don’t charge for eggs, don’t charge for egg insights: both are works created through hands and heart with tools that were freely gifted.
While I have neither the time nor the eye-focus to make an egg for each of my readers, I can at least share the next best thing: my writing. I offer this website with the deepest hopes and prayers that these words uplift you, inspire you, shift your spirit in even the smallest of ways. May they add a drop of wax to your own beautiful life’s pysanka. And may they bring light to you, through you—to others as well—and out to the ends of the world.
“Somewhere in the distance, deep, rumbling growls of frustration rise from the depths of a hidden Ukrainian cave. The monster’s chains are slightly tighter today than they were yesterday. And the whole unsuspecting world is all the better for it.”
If you already understand that reference, you’re exactly who I hoped would stop by for a visit.
And if you don’t understand that reference yet, I bid you welcome: you’ve just become a part of it.
*******
Translating The Book into a blog poses some challenges. In book form, readers would start on page one and follow the story from beginning to end, each chapter building upon the previous. My writing style, however, has been a piecemeal effort as inspiration calls. I have chapter beginnings written, but not full chapters. I have a few longer sections written, but with no transitional writings in between. The connections throughout the work will someday tell a single story; for now I can only offer vignettes and hope that the reader can fill in some of the gaps until I’m able to. My own life’s journey runs parallel to my spiritual journey, my immersion into this art, even the history of Ukraine, and all of it will eventually weave together into a single narrative that can be read from start to finish.
Setting this up as a website, then, should necessitate a different approach. And yet I’m compelled to follow the intended outline for The Book. So I’ve organized it into chapters, each named for the colors that a traditional pysanka travels through from start to finish: White, Yellow, Green, Orange, Red, Dark Red, and Black. Each chapter begins with a story portion about a Ukrainian baba passing down the art of pysanky to her only grandchild. These narrative sketches establish a theme based on the symbolism of that chapter’s color name. Currently, some chapters have more material, some have less, and some will be in progress for a while. Retaining this structure will keep my efforts on target towards some-day publication, even if it necessitates the burden of disconnect during its development.
A pysanka’s journey isn’t complete until it’s handed over to its intended recipient. I offer my words in much the same way, and already feel the circle of creation beginning its completion through your participation.
Thank you for reading, and enjoy!
Click for first chapter: Baba – White