When you think about it (and I have) this blog has been home to a lot of darkness. I have spent a number of hours here in despair, doubting my choices, talents, and more. I have poured my heart into this digital space looking for little more than a chance to be heard. I think that is what all of us writers want at the basic level. We want to be heard. We’d all love it if we could be paid enough for our words that this is all we need to do, but that is not the reality for most of us. Instead reality interferes with our ability to get the words out. There are great stories lost in the every day chaos of our lives.
This is going somewhere, folks.
I believe the ten minute rule saved my life. If I didn’t write for 10 every single day I would’ve lost connection to the words long ago. I lapse into periods of disconnection from the words and the 10 remain my lifeline. However, I believe I have been very short sighted in my understanding of this most basic formula. What if I apply the rule to reading? To exercise? Most importantly, what if I applied the rule to reflection on the things that matter most to me. I can honestly say that I don’t spend ten consecutive minutes each day just sitting and thinking about my partner. I think if I did I would have a better relationship than I do now.
The more I add the more scheduled and disciplined my life becomes, and I don’t want that. However, there are things in my life that truly matter and they deserve at least the ten minutes I know from thousands of days of experience that I can devote each and every single day.
It shouldn’t have to be a challenge. It should just be how it is. But it isn’t, and that disturbs me. That demands change. So, change I must. 10 minutes at a time.
Some Thoughts:
- I thought I might close by sharing a rather stark impression of Trump by noted Republican campaign manager Steve Schmidt:
“Donald Trump has been the worst president this country has ever had. And I don’t say that hyperbolically. He is. But he is a consequential president. And he has brought this country in three short years to a place of weakness that is simply unimaginable if you were pondering where we are today from the day where Barack Obama left office. And there were a lot of us on that day who were deeply skeptical and very worried about what a Trump presidency would be. But this is a moment of unparalleled national humiliation, of weakness.“When you listen to the President, these are the musings of an imbecile. An idiot. And I don’t use those words to name call. I use them because they are the precise words of the English language to describe his behavior. His comportment. His actions. We’ve never seen a level of incompetence, a level of ineptitude so staggering on a daily basis by anybody in the history of the country whose ever been charged with substantial responsibilities.“It’s just astonishing that this man is president of the United States. The man, the con man, from New York City. Many bankruptcies, failed businesses, a reality show, that branded him as something that he never was. A successful businessman. Well, he’s the President of the United States now, and the man who said he would make the country great again. And he’s brought death, suffering, and economic collapse on truly an epic scale. And let’s be clear. This isn’t happening in every country around the world. This place. Our place. Our home. Our country. The United States. We are the epicenter. We are the place where you’re the most likely to die from this disease. We’re the ones with the most shattered economy. And we are because of the fool that sits in the Oval Office behind the Resolute Desk.”