The writing process
I've written poems in idyllic scenes, on a porch swing, a paddle board, a balcony overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. But mostly my poems come to me in the most inconvenient and uninspiring times. In between drafting briefing notes and spreadsheeting. In bed, 30 minutes into trying to sleep. In the shower. In the middle of a conversation when someone says a word or phrase, and my whole body itches with the urge to use it in a sentence. When my cat paws my face in the 30 seconds before the alarm goes off. When I am walking and stop in the middle of a sidewalk to study a tree, talk to a squirrel, or stare at pink clouds.
My life is strewn across notebooks, a hodgepodge of well formed paragraphs, half baked ideas, incomplete sentences and single words. Bleeding into the notes in my phone, even more unorderly and incoherent.
There are millions of words from the millions of versions of me, fitting together like puzzle pieces and square pegs in round holes.
Creation is chaos. Chaos is creation. The work of the artist is to tame it just enough to feed it but still let it run wild.
I am a student of life, always studying people, nature, and the world around me. I want to document everything. I need to document everything. It's a compulsion to put this life into words so I can understand it.
I need to filter the world into a few lines you can sink your teeth into Something that will feed you Nourish you Make you think, god this life is delicious So sweet it's sickening So sour your cheeks hurt and your eyes water I want to make people feel something To pause To cock their heads sideways and look at something differently To think wow I never noticed that before I write to romance my life I write to fall in love with myself and humanity to heal my heart and connect with yours
If writing isn’t your thing, I hope you can see the writing process as a metaphor for life. Like writing, life is messy. You will be many characters in your lifetime and there will be endless drafts of your story; all are important and necessary, but not all will fit together comfortably.
There is never a perfect time, place, or level of skill to obtain before you can prioritize doing whatever it is your heart longs to do. It doesn't have to be a full time job or your whole world, but I do encourage you to steal moments away to hone your craft whatever it may be.
Pause between to-do's and pour a little something into your own cup. Marvel at the mundane in your life. Look into the eyes of the people you know and really take them in. Create something, anything, whenever and wherever you can, as a way to connect with yourself. A good meal is a nice place to start….after all, this life is delicious.
Big hugs,
Syd