Life On A B-I7

Day #211

Brenda Ueland said: “Everybody human has something to express.”

I don’t think she is telling us we all need to write some sort of manifesto. I believe she is saying we should think about leaving a few words behind that express who we are so that those who follow us can have a deeper appreciation for us.

Day #210

Joan Didion said: “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking.”

Spot on, I could not agree more. I do fear losing my mind, more specifically my memory. I’m sure writing will help to prevent that. That’s a big part of the reason why I do this.

Day #209

Arthur Miller said: “The best work that anybody ever writes is the work that is on the verge of embarrassing him.”

That’s easy enough for me to do but I suspect that’s not exactly what he meant.

Day #208

Madeleine L’Engle said: “Just write a little bit every day. Even if it’s for only half an hour.”

This may be the best advice from an author I have stumbled across. I appreciate that she does not attach any expectation to that writing because neither do I…

Writing is also good for old peoples’ brains.

Day #207

Jack Kerouac said: “One day I will find the right words.”

I’m searching. I’m getting closer but won’t get there unless I keep trying.

Day #206

Virginia Woolf said: “So long as you write what you wish to write, that is all that matters; and whether it matters for the ages or only for hours, nobody can say.”

Thank you, Virginia. Those are comforting words for me. I do hope that some of this will matter to my children. That’s what I think about most when I sit down to write.

Day #205

Edward Bulwerlytton said: “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

It’s nice to finally learn the name of the person that said that.

Day #204

Stephen King said: “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and get to work.”

Good advice, whether you are writing or not. Although I consider myself an amateur by any stretch of the imagination, it’s also the case that every day I simply “get to work.” Why? I enjoy it. I have faith that someday before I die, something I consider to be worth reading will come off my pen.

Day #203

C.S. Lewis said: “I never exactly made a book. It’s rather like taking dictation. I was given things to say.”

Ray Bradbury would say something very similar. There are writers and there are people who write. Let there be no confusion, I fall into the latter category. Someone close to me said recently, why do you spend so much time writing? My reply was slightly apologetic, essentially I gave as my excuse, you can’t become a writer if you don’t write.

Day #202

Natalie Goldberg said: (I am paraphrasing slightly) “Write about what you are afraid to speak about.”

I’m working up to that. I need to print out that quote and paste it up above my desk… There is a part of me that is afraid to speak out. I’m not quite evolved enough to step into that territory. I joined the Central Oregon Writers Guild this week, not because I’m a writer, let’s be clear about that. I joined in the hope that by meeting with real writers once a month in the Bend Oregon Library, I might learn something about how to do this.

Day #201

Susan Sontag said: “A writer is someone who pays attention to the world.”

I like to think I do that. As long as you are paying attention, there’s a chance you will observe something that leads to a new understanding. It may be gradual and it may be slight, but it is probably naive to think that enlightenment comes in any other way.

Day #200

William Faulkner said: “Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything good.”

I often find that my ideas are bad, in that case, I don’t share them. Occasionally I do create something “good.” That usually comes after having taken a chance. It’s safe to say, my best work usually comes after taking a chance.

Day #199

Franz Kafka said: “Writing is prayer.”

I’m not the praying type… Perhaps that’s why I write.

Day #198

Martin Luther said: “If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.”

Of course, it has to be worth reading and it will also need to be read. Nevertheless, he is correct, even if the world you are changing is only your own.

Day #197

It may be that humans evolved the ability to practice science. Evolution, as the saying goes “does not plan ahead.” It may well be that the ability of humans to think scientifically evolved from the practice of tracking wild game. A skill developed by the earliest humans that was necessary for survival. It has been demonstrated that tracking is a science and not an art which could be the very evolutionary stimulus that has brought us to physics, space travel, and AI today.

Day #196

By locating the thing that sheep desire, a herder can bend the flock’s will in that direction. You cannot do that by bullying the sheep, you must create in them a desire to follow. That is the key to herding any animal — humans included.

Day #195

The Three “C’s.” (Also, my favorite formula.)

Coffee + Cats = Clarity

# 194

Start slow and small.
Build a routine.
Track your results.
Cut yourself some slack.
Keep going.

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# 193

According to a Sioux Elder, the meaning of life is found in the ability to address everything that we encounter with a song. To do that we will need to have some songs at our disposal. We also need to keep a few at the forefront of our consciousness. We need to curate a personal list of songs that we can call on to carry us through whatever situation we may be facing.

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# 192

Remember, it is never a good idea to fall too much in love with your ideas, you could always be wrong. The more in love you are with them, the more likely it is you are blind to something you should see.

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# 191

Nothing in the Universe is lost. Destruction is always counterbalanced by creation. You can’t have one without the other. You might be familiar with the phrase, “conservation of energy.” That applies to the human sphere as well.

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# 190

The trick to understanding anything new to us is to look at it from as many perspectives as we can. Even those perspectives that may not be our own.

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# 189

This quote struck me as special. “Do not pass up the chance to experience, beyond the sun, the world where no one lives. Consider your origin: you were not made to live like a brute, but to pursue virtue and knowledge.” From Dante’s “Inferno, XXVI.”

To my way of thinking, “the world where no one lives” could be anywhere you want to make it. This is a good reminder that we must always be curious. We must always seek truth and knowledge.

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# 188

Each year I plan to take on a different writing project. This year it has been “A Year of Living Thoughtfully.” Last year it was “Poetry Challenge.” I’m considering making next year’s project, “A Year of Living Creatively.” We shall see.

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# 187

What is the most difficult thing you can do? Perhaps it is…

Read a poem and search for understanding.
Read a poem with just your presence involved.
Read a poem and let it share what it will.
Read a poem and allow it to speak to you.

If you feel something you’re a winner. You’ve been given that which was meant for you. That is a good way to approach everything in life.

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