On Making an Effort and NOT...
Monday, March 3, 2014 at 1:00 AM by Kayce Stevens Hughlett
The Art of Pondering ~
not going anywhere in particular, but making the effort to get there...
©h3images.comThe act of writing is one of those fluid places where having a goal seems essential, but often it is in the showing up and ‘not going anywhere in particular’ that the magic happens. Habitually when I show up at the page, I have a particular outcome in mind—an article, blog post, novel chapter. I want to write something tangible, and readable… something others will love. Ah… and there’s the rub. Trying to write something that makes sense, that’s beautifully thought out and structured. This is the place I get stuck. It’s the frustrating place where I push myself towards a particular agenda rather than allowing what wants to show up on the page to show up.
Early in my writing career, I fell in love with Anne Lamott’s book, Bird by Bird. It is in there that she puts forth her highly quoted, “Write the shitty first draft.” I used to think this meant that all our first drafts would be garbage, no matter what. What it’s come to mean for me is that it is in the act of showing up and getting something, anything really, down on the page that the alchemy of writing begins.
The same is true with pondering. It’s not about ‘going anywhere in particular,’ but rather showing up, making space, creating the shitty first draft, or whatever you want to call it. Pondering is going there and letting go of any attachments to where “there” is.
Where are you going today? Is there a way you could set your destination and then ease up on the effort? Allow things to flow more freely? What if you let go of expectations and opened your arms in acceptance? How might your world change?
*excerpt from my in-process book, The Art of Pondering: a primer
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Reader Comments (2)
So today I went to lovely Wailea to enjoy the food, the scenery and to make the best of the grey day on Maui. It was a lovely pondering site:) xoxo
I wish I could have been there pondering with you, Dianna! xoxo