In the last few weeks, I have been drawn away from my current work in progress by other concerns and obligations, the day job, friends, family, and whatnot. Drawn away as we all are from what we do by the flow of life all around us. Much of being a writer is learning to balance the flow within with the flow without, giving all we can to our characters to keep the book alive and thriving while living our own lives.
It occurs to me that this is a struggle for everyone, not just writers and artists. All of us find ourselves divided between our lives as they are and our lives as we want them to be. We search and strive for the perfect word, the next contract, the next promotion, or even a weekend of peace and quiet when we can relax with the one we love most. Life has a way of drawing us into the fray that takes us away from ourselves, and it occurs to me that we need to return to ourselves a little everyday.
How do we do this? I think prayer is one answer, though that is also a return to God, and opens up a much larger discussion. Meditation is another, the simple practice of following the breath, reaching not to conquer, but to let go, both of the way we perceive ourselves and of the things we fight for in our daily lives.
Returning to the well, however we choose to do it, is not a luxury but an essential. Only at the well can we find ourselves as we truly are. Oonly as we turn inward can we find the path that leads us beyond the struggles we embroil ourselves in, and back to the here and now. For now, this one moment, is essentially all we have. And it is enough.
So very true. It sounds so simple, yet can be so difficult sometimes…
So true, Lauren. The simple is always difficult. But worth it, when I actually do it 🙂