When I don’t write, I do the following:
*Think about life, love, existence, light, the universe, nature, certain aspects of physics or biology that I don’t understand, but which intrigue and interest me anyway.
*Dream about an alternate universe where there’s a future for humankind.
*Do my everyday boring household tasks which somehow soothe me — folding freshly-washed laundry; cooking; picking beans, tomatoes, eggplant and green peppers from our vegetable garden, washing them, and cooking them with my favorite Indian spices; sweep the floor every night; pick up all the books strewn liberally around the house — that sort of thing.
*Take my dog out on very long walks in the woods nearby — it’s a beautiful place, with all kinds of trees, outcrops of rocks, a natural pond (dry right now, but usually brimming after lots of rain, and nicely frozen over in winter after our many blizzards and snow-storms), deer, birds, and brimming with a deep silence (broken only by the hum of distant cars on the highway) in the middle of the day.
*Think (see above)
*Dream (see above)
* Chauffeur my (home-schooled) ten-year old daughter to her various activities: Home-school chorus; home-school math; drama club; swimming at the YMCA; Kathak dance classes; play-dates.
*Read, read, read: I love all kinds of books, and am usually in the middle of at least three books at a time — right now, I’m in the middle of:
1. All the Light You Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (one of the most beautiful books I’ve read in recent years);
2. The fifth book in the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder (By The Shores of Silver Lake) — oddly enough, I just finished the next book in that series, The Long Winter — and I was deeply moved by the struggles they faced with a smile and a song (there’s so much to learn about how to face adversity from the early pioneers),
3. Nation by Terry Pratchett (for young adults, but I enjoy such books a lot!).
*Think some more (see above)
*Dream some more (see above)
*Play the guitar and sing with my family (we love singing madrigals from the 16th century, as well as old folk songs together)
*Teach (English, and guitar)
*Think (see above)
*Dream (see above)
*Watch the birds outside my window, as I type at the kitchen table — blue jays, cardinals, wood-peckers, sparrows, tufted titmice; white-breasted nut-hatches, chickadees … so beautiful they all are!
*Make lunch and dinner (husband makes breakfast and coffee)
*Think and dream in between.
~And I make my escape into strange worlds where the light slants in and dust motes do their golden dance in beams of sunlight.
~I imagine that the butterfly bush in the back yard hosts a butterfly that turns into a fey creature (see my story here)
~I agonize over world politics, the refugee crisis, and climate change.
~I think deep thoughts about life, soul, spirit and philosophy, then shrug my shoulders and slide back into reality, because there’s real work to be done.
~I laugh at stupid cat-dog-bird videos.
~I read The New York Times, and the Guardian online.
~I get on Facebook, and post music (and other things).
~And then, I cannot help myself — I write! Writing soothes me, sustains me, reminds me about how reality can be captured in words (transmuted, no doubt, but still real), and how I need to be creative, or I shall waste away into a mere shadow.
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#writing 101