Life is a journey. Yet as Juan said in his last blog, when “we’re bombarded with excessive trivial demands, the aspects of our life that once were so inspiring are pushed aside, and our journey is not our own any more.”
I’ll admit I’ve been overwhelmed by demands from all directions, throwing me off course, pushing my creative writing to the side. I’d had lots of reasons–excuses really—classes, committees, research deadlines, and a morass of mundane chores.
This week our university hosted two creative writers from Nebraska, Bud Shaw and Rebecca Rotert-Shaw, whose compelling readings and presence lit a fire in my heart. I still have that same pile of excuses. But now I realize that as long as I keep telling myself all the reasons why I “don’t have time to write,” I’ll stay stuck in excuses and won’t have time to write.
We have a choice. In graduate school, I loved studying Renaissance writers, inspired by their affirmation of free will: the empowering message that we have a choice. We always have a choice. Our actions in life follow our attention. If we focus our attention on all the reasons we can’t: write, create, follow our dreams, then we’re stuck in the world of can’t.
We shift into a dynamic new paradigm when we turn from feeling victimized by externals to ask, “What can I do?” Then the door starts to open, a shaft of light enters, illuminating our choices, lighting the way.
To make this paradigm shift for yourself, take a few moments now to:
- Center yourself by mindfully breathing in and out.
- Let yourself watch the procession of thoughts and feelings swirling by.
- If you get hooked by one, take a deep breath.
- Return to mindful breathing.
- Ask yourself, “What can I do?”
- End your meditation by writing in your journal.
- Don’t analyze. Just let the words flow. Following the deep, authentic voice within you will cast light on new choices, revealing the next step on your journey.
- Remember: you always have a choice.
Namaste,
Diane