This quote comes from Sue Monk Kidd, the author of the novel, "Secret Lives of Bees", that had sold 6 million copies and was in the New York Best Book List not for 2 weeks but 2 years. This quote was the one that she decided to use at the end of the interview she gave to Oprah in her show, Super Soul Sunday. It is a summation of her approach to life and her life itself.
Her writings, including her novels, are laced with deep spiritual thoughts. Not surprising since Sue Monk Kidd has always been a deep, God-centered person. Of all the factors that could have influenced her to write, it was a spiritual book, Thomas Merton's Seven Storey Mountain, that inspired her to have the courage to write. In the interview with Oprah, she cited her mantra that life is pursuing and fulfilling ones authentic self, which is culled from Thomas Merton's spirituality.
In this particular interview she shared how she, at thirty, gave up her career in nursing and just announced to her husband one day she wanted to be a writer. She took classes in writing thereafter and wrote three religious memoirs before she became a blockbuster novelist. It took her 20 years before she attained this huge success that we know of now.
When the first pages of The Secret Life of Bees were published as a short story, her mentor commented they were not fitted to be transformed to be a novel. It took her years to ignore this disappointing comment that could have discouraged anybody from moving on to pursue what one had envisioned. We are very lucky she is not a quitter and converted that short story into this famous novel which was also the subject of a well loved movie of the same name.
Being holy and living in themselves can be daunting. I hope the simple truths contained in this poster from Sue Monk Kidd will inspire you each day. It is simple but so true. I hope also that her courage to pursue her dreams and authentic self also inspires you to do the same.
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