“I write out of ignorance. I write about the things I don't have any resolutions for, and when I'm finished, I think I know a little bit more about it. I don't write out of what I know. It's what I don't know that stimulates me. I merely know enough to get started.
- Toni Morrison
This is pretty much how my writing practice goes….a thread, an unraveling, a learning, an inspiration, a pivot, a new thought…..words on digital paper.
The best breadcrumbs are those that show up seemingly at random, and perfectly in synchronicity. A metaphor for how I am approaching life right now.
Instead of pushing and pulling, “making it happen, ” I am freeing up my energy a bit. I'm allowing the universe to take the reins. That's not to say that I am surrendering my agency (I am not) - only that I am gladly taking a quiet observer stance for a bit. A chance to slow down the pace, catch to my breath, and stop to smell the blooming jasmine. To embrace the waves of beauty that come my way. To take a walk or bike ride in the park. To make more time to cook for the sheer joy of it. To reinstate my “no work Wednesday”, or what Julia Cameron calls an artist's date. I like to think I do these things on a regular basis, but sometimes it's out of unconscious habit instead of as a considered ritual. To take a thoughtful sabbatical of sorts. A day, a week, a single breath. Sometimes that's all it takes. Other times, we may need to go fallow for a longer stretch. To tune out so we can tune in more deeply to what's true. The world will have you moving with the wind's whim if you aren't paying close attention. It's good to float on a proverbial cloud for a while, if you have the wherewithal or desire to do so. But if you don't, simply slow down and take a deep breath. And drink some water. Or a cup of tea. It's often the simple daily acts that reset and recalibrate us best.
As the writer Anne Lamott humorously reminds us in her book, Bird by Bird, "Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you."
x Alisa
Photo credit: Painting | Cy Twombly
The best breadcrumbs are those that show up seemingly at random, and perfectly in synchronicity. A metaphor for how I am approaching life right now.
Instead of pushing and pulling, “making it happen, ” I am freeing up my energy a bit. I'm allowing the universe to take the reins. That's not to say that I am surrendering my agency (I am not) - only that I am gladly taking a quiet observer stance for a bit. A chance to slow down the pace, catch to my breath, and stop to smell the blooming jasmine. To embrace the waves of beauty that come my way. To take a walk or bike ride in the park. To make more time to cook for the sheer joy of it. To reinstate my “no work Wednesday”, or what Julia Cameron calls an artist's date. I like to think I do these things on a regular basis, but sometimes it's out of unconscious habit instead of as a considered ritual. To take a thoughtful sabbatical of sorts. A day, a week, a single breath. Sometimes that's all it takes. Other times, we may need to go fallow for a longer stretch. To tune out so we can tune in more deeply to what's true. The world will have you moving with the wind's whim if you aren't paying close attention. It's good to float on a proverbial cloud for a while, if you have the wherewithal or desire to do so. But if you don't, simply slow down and take a deep breath. And drink some water. Or a cup of tea. It's often the simple daily acts that reset and recalibrate us best.
As the writer Anne Lamott humorously reminds us in her book, Bird by Bird, "Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you."
x Alisa
Photo credit: Painting | Cy Twombly