The exterminator has already been here, I’ve got mail to go through, the grocery store, a growing list of errands that includes two Christmas returns, a suitcase to unpack, piles to organize. When I was in Provincetown I would come here first, often before I was out of bed. This morning, although I’ve thought of coming here, I keep thinking of other things–checking in with my parents, a plan for the day, responding to comments from yesterday, a birthday gift, where I’m going to walk. A plan, a plan, a plan. Structure.
A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time. ~Annie Dillard
Last spring, a writer reading my novel-in-progress commented that I needed to be messier. She said, “Write the word MESSY on an index card and put it in front of you on your desk.”
Yesterday I started my post first thing-ish but had to finish it on the airplane. I like the idea of coming here first and seeing what pops up before I let my need for order have its way. And this daily practice feels like a kind of grounding before I go out into the world to be swayed this way and that. Perhaps I need more chaos and whim. Perhaps if I ground myself first, it will be easier to sway.
~
Welcome Home… darling!
My three R’s… once out of bed…
Reflect… Rejoice… Reconnect
The 4th R… Reality…
must simply wait its turn… 🙂
oh I like that, Helena.
xxx
I’ve come to realize that how and when we begin our day is very telling and just as important 🙂
yeah, I wish I’d get up earlier…
me, too! For the time I was actually on a roll, sticking to it, I felt better and accomplished things differently. I immediately fell in love with the early morning in the beginning of the day, too. But when I’m under a ridiculous amount of pressure and have NO time to do what I need to to rise above the mound I’m buried under, I always push and push and push at the end of the day, which often leads well into the next one before I consider ending it *sigh* Grrrr…
Yes! The primary gift of my Daily Shorty year–besides an enormous supply of material–was the realization that my writing benefits from mess. What a shock for us control freaks!
That’s the truth!