I don’t know how else to say it, but I love it when the universe clumps.

Alright, so perhaps “clumps” isn’t the right word. It sorta brings to mind images of kitty litter and milk that’s gone bad.

But do you ever look around and take stock of all those little nudges that come your way?

No? You should try it.

If you have, you know what I mean. For me, it goes back to the writing thing. Sometimes I’ll have a rough day where a topic is hard to come by when I sit down at the keyboard, and I’ll write what I call a throw-away post which, inevitably, is a post that prompts someone to email me or text and say how much they liked it.

Or I’ll wonder who really reads this thing and, a few hours later, someone will reach out and say that they’ve been reading it, and then they’ll pass along the official rules for a short story contest that they think I should enter.

Then there are the conversations that stir the creativity inside of me — conversations that happen at a time when I need them most, but which I didn’t realize at the time.

Or maybe it’s when I walk into a store, and I see a book that grabs my attention and inspires me to purchase it.

It all ladders back up to one thing that I genuinely believe: if you really want to do something, you’ll be guided toward it if you just look around and see the people, the resources, the words of encouragement and the work of others who have also followed that dream. Noticing those things is one part of the equation, though. Harnessing the energy so that you’re moved to action is another thing entirely.

Tonight I am thankful for the clumps of inspiration and the nudges of encouragement that always seem to find me when my tank is running low.

Here’s to action.