I took a break from the matrix and the dog, making my way toward the nearest Starbucks. The blustery Arizona evening delivered all of the unfamiliar cold without the promise of stars, so I sat indoors, taking stock of the customers and the ambiance. I needed to get out and write somewhere I hadn’t in a while. Familiarity can be a writer’s nemesis if what is familiar is not also stimulating. I’d almost bought a Bonsai tree earlier in the day. I was seeking to add a little extra to my environment. I needed something to get me going and engaged in the overlapping practices of writing and zen. Lately it has been hard to eek out a moment of either.
So for almost ten minutes I’ve been sitting here trying to strike accords with the writing force (like the speed force but slower), sacrificing word after word to this blog in search of story and seeing my actions pass into that void to return as a sprinkle of inspiration the way minecraft mobs are distilled into tiny green globules of experience.
It is a work in progress, but my patience is near an end. I need to be more productive and more driven right now. Opportunity abounds and I seize very little of it these days.
Some Thoughts:
- Ran into a former student working at the ‘bucks (and yes, I am going to call it that). Conversation was good and light until I asked him about how he was doing. That was the moment his smile withered. He didn’t say it but he still seeks more than what he is presently doing with his life. I can empathize. In the space between being with my partner and my kids I feel exactly as he does.