This week, Thursday belongs to Kathleen Givens in the Whine Sisters Schedule, which means Sherri combs the Whine Archives looking for past relevant writing advice from Kathleen Givens to share with you lucky readers. Kathleen had plenty of great advice, some on writing, but this is the one that made my breath catch this week:
Kathleen, from 6/27/08:
The following is an email being sent around the web. I have no idea if George Carlin wrote this, but it sure sounds like him. Be sure to read all the way to end for a typical George Carlin touch. We’ll miss you, George!
A Message by George Carlin:
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things.
We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete…
Remember to spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever. Remember to say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent. Remember to say, “I love you” to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. If you don’t send this to at least 8 people….Who cares?
Sherri’s Note: Whether George Carlin actually wrote it or not, Kathleen not only took this advice to heart, but she lived it. Every day. And in the last few months of 2009, she had insisted that people around her stop what they were doing and watch the sun set. Every night, just stop. Watch that sunset. Take it in. Think. Feel. Love. And then apply it to your writing, because it is this rich inner awareness that brings your words, characters, and fiction worlds to life. You can’t fake it. You have to live it. This is what made Kathleen Givens’s fiction as lyrical, engaging, and dynamic as it was, as it is. She lived.
In honor of YOU, dear readers, because we love you and we haven’t given anything away in the longest time, we’re giving away a Kindle Fire (or the gift card equivalent, in the event you have or don’t want a Kindle Fire) to one lucky commenter from now until February 13, when we will choose a winner at random from commenters, to be announced on Valentine’s Day. 
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve never read this before, but it’s so true.
I need to travel more. I think it would enrich my writing.
It’s all about heart! And Kathleen had that in spades. And I think–so did George Carlin. Laughter after all heals so much!
Kathleen did live life, much more fully than I could ever hope to do. I lost two other friends as a young woman, both had big loving families, lived in wealth and had been world travelers. I have some comfort in knowing that while they had many fewer breaths than me they had wonderful life experiences. However I have gotten to live an adult life, have children (what an experience) and the unconditional love of a kind man. So I’ve been trying to be just plain nicer, talk to my neighbors, the mail lady and the people at the grocery store. Hey it makes my life easier.
George Carlin really did write that. He was a very interesting man. He had this schtick about kids and how they drove him crazy. I was so surprised to learn how many Thomas the Train episodes he narrated.
Kath was right about applying feeling to your writing. The more I am out in the world, the more people I come into contact with, the more hope and joy and tragedy and despair I see, the better informed my writing is. It’s all about the emotion.
He took over from Ringo Starr. George was the conductor during most of the years my son watched, so I know those episodes well. All too well. They still called it Thomas the Tank Engine then, early 90s. I had no idea Kath was a fan of George Carlin until she blogged about him shortly after his death. Maybe they’re sharing some laughs.
They still call him the Tank Engine.
You’re right, Sherri–Kathleen DID live it. But she not only lived it–she inspired others to do so. I’m going to miss her every day for the rest of my life. Thank you so much for reprinting this–it really it home.
xox Jacquie
I have a good sob once a week going through the old blog posts and thinking of her. But I also get to laugh and remember, so it’s special to have that time with her, my Kath time.
Sobbing with you . . . every week.
I wish I could just get back to writing. The business part of writing takes time, too. I don’t know how some of you manage to be so prolific. I think I need a better system. Time to get organized.