Tag: Beginnings

How to Begin Your Day

Poetry, The Creative Process, Uncategorized

IMG_1296I started this practice some months back.  It just sort of happened with no premeditation. When I was in some random airport waiting for a connection, I spied some lovely little leather journals in a gift shop and thought “What a perfect place to write poetry!”  The journal was purchased and is now over half full of poems and drafts of poems.  In the morning I am either working on a poem, reading poetry or doing a combination of both, in bed, a cup of tea in hand with two furry dogs beside me for company.  It’s been a delightful way to start my day, so much nicer than reading the news.

Begin the Day With a Poem

let the lines of beauty

spin a warm cocoon about you

Revel in its warmth

and the protection it offers

from the harshness of this world

Drink in the loveliness

of pure imagery

and let the words

light candles in the darkness

marking a clear path before you

into the garden of hope.

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You Just Start

The Creative Process, Uncategorized

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You just start.

There is no perfect time.

You are weary of an idea pursuing you & tugging on your soul, so rather than run harder you stop in your tracks, turn around, shake your idea’s hand & say, OK.  I will give you 15 minutes of my day NOW.  No running out & buying a new pen, notebook, paintbrush, canvas, computer or whatever distraction you may deem necessary.  Just sit down & give you & your idea a chance to know each other better.

Lao Tzu,  an ancient Chinese mystic once said: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”So true, but what he neglected to say was that first step is the hardest of the entire journey.  On the flip side, it is the most liberating.  Your 15-minute appointment with your idea will probably extend to an hour.  Then you can hardly wait for the next one.  Congratulations- you are on your way.

This scenario is exactly how this blog started on a beat-up legal pad  I scrounged from a drawer in my desk.  I was ultimately tackled with the idea that I needed to share my stories of life on my creative path, often a lonely one.  Hopefully, it can help you, dear reader, on yours.  In the process, I had to thumb my nose at my greatest nemesis, perfection, and just start.  This is my first step.