Or, Just Plain Stuck?

Just four days after I pledged to spend the next month seeking peace and finding room for my imagination to spread out, I got poison oak! Never had it as a child. I’ve got to say it is a real barricade to an easy mind. I can’t meditate; you know how they tell you to “just let idle thoughts pass through”? That doesn’t mean you can ignore that steady itch. I know there are far worse things I could be dealing with, but this one has put full stop to my ability to just think.

So I’ve let the challenge go for now. I will get better. In the four days before the attack, I came up with an outline for my next book, which I will reveal soon. For now, I’m just trying not to scare small children with how I look.

Back soon. Don’t give up on me, friends.

Stuck in the Middle Again

Stuck in the middle again

I’m somewhere between home and where I’m going, and it’s an uncomfortable place to be. Essentially, I’m nowhere. Having done really extensive editing and rewriting of my novel in the past year, I’m just dribbling out submissions to likely agents and publishers. This doesn’t feel purposeful or smart. 

My mind lies fallow, and it walks endlessly within itself looking for something to write. I am spending far too much time in this chair at my computer, where I grow sluggish and dull. 

So I’m challenging myself. Today is August 14, and I pledge to spend part of each day through September 15 following wherever I lead myself. That will mean stretching myself physically and emotionally and just letting myself pay attention to anything that passes by. I will meditate, listen, let my mind drift, and just BE.

Aside from just wandering, my quest will take me to delicious solitude at the ocean, in a forest, at a waterfall, drinking a glass of wine by myself in a quaint cafe, at a picnic table in a park, and other places that come to mind.

And I will have my journal with me. What happens, will happen, and I will be accutely aware. You’ll be hearing from me here frequently. I ask you to come with me on this journey.

In fact, if you would like to take my challenge, try this yourself. Think of it as our converstation in solitude. Please leave a comment so I know you are “on board.”