To all Writing Contest participants, from my heart ...

I've spent the last three hours reading the Writing Contest entries. I think I may be half way through. Gosh, there's a lot of talent here. So many styles, so many perspectives, so many voices and inflections and topics.

The reason it's taking me so long to get through them is because each one causes me to pause - and think, or reflect, or smile, or simply sit in awe at the author's ability to capture an emotion or a moment or an entire story so wonderfully.

Community members are experimenting with styles. Bloggers I've read previously in prose or informative pieces are sharing fiction and poetry. I've travelled back in time with two, reliving similar memories of my own as I journey through the creative expression of another.

My next uninterrupted block of time will see me going back and reading through more expressions of brilliance, skill and delight.

I'm not alone in my awe either. Some submissions have inspired impressive comment threads where readers get to interact with their responses to the piece - and the author gets to revel in the knowledge that their work touched someone ... and that it merited a discussion.

And yet, in spite of the immense display of talent bared for public perusal ~ there are relatively few votes. Why is that? Do we all have varied criteria for voting that makes getting a vote on a writing submission on par with actually getting an A+ on a report card?

I'm not judging or criticizing - I'm simply curious. Part of me suspects that it's an innocent act of not knowing that we can vote - or being so moved by what we've read that it fills our minds or hearts and there's no room to remember to vote. Or perhaps, once reading through the comment stream that follows a submission ~ the experience shifts from being an appreciative reader to being an active participant.

I am very generous with my Votes. As I don't feel I hold any sway whatsoever in the ultimate selection process ... I vote for the author. If an author puts their heart, their thoughts, their feelings, something of deep personal relevance into 1,000 words and posts it for others to read ~ they've got my vote.

If an author shifts my perspective on something, causes me to well up with tears or laugh out loud, takes me back in time, invites me into the rythm of their work - they've got my vote.

And if you've captured me with the raw brilliance of your talent, making me wish I could express myself like you or, at the very least, have the imagination to see the world like you - then you not only have my vote, but you also get a Star.

At the end of the day, I imagine the creator of the work I'm reading 'out there', somewhere behind my screen. I imagine the time it took to express the words, the courage to speak a truth, the imagination to create a scenario, the genious to leave an impression with only 1,000 words ~ and the Divine within me desires to honour the Divinity within you ...and I do this, with a Vote.

All the submissions I've read thus far have impressed me. I envy Katherine Center's writing talent, the fact that she's published two books and working on her third, her whimsical humour and her beautiful face.  But I do not envy her task to pick only one winner.

And so, from me to all of you participating in the contest ~ please hear my gratitude and applause for your brilliance and creativity, in my Vote.