Since I began this blog, I have been focused mostly on the craft and business of writing. The rules, the players, the do and don'ts. In honor of all the changes occuring in my life and Fall creeping in, I'm going to shift my focus to writing for the sake of writing.
Writing for the sake of beauty. Writing for the sake of profound joy. Writing for the sake of being in love with the written word. Writing for the sake of practice and toning.
A few things have been brought to my attention lately by subtle tap tap tappings on my subconscious. Under close scrutiny, they all boil down to the fact that I have stopped looking, stopped being aware of my surroundings, and stopped trying to find and create beauty. The obvious thing is I've stopped taking pictures. But, there is even a root to that issue that runs deeper.
I could blame these self-imposed blinders on the fact that I am so focused on other things that I don't have time to take time out. Or, I could blame it on the fact that shooting weddings completely burned me out on photography.
The truth is, I don't like my surroundings and so I've walled myself off and rarely pay attention to anything outside my own mind chatter. The truth is, I can find beauty in the glittering man-made skyline of a city and I can find inspiration in the flat, wide open, cobalt skies above ocean and sand, but I feel completely trapped and claustrophobic surrounded by a country landscape. Not that a country landscape isn't beautiful in itself, it's just that we all have parts of physical existence that we resonate with and this isn't mine.
Maybe it is the unexpected chilled air this morning that woke up my mind, maybe it is the live-in-the-moment mentality I've been trying to operate my life by. Whatever it is, it comes baring a message I can't ignore any longer: find beauty anyway. It's there. Even in things we hate, there is something to love. So, this is my new quest. Be mindful. Find something beautiful in my surroundings every day.
I may write about it, I may photograph it...some days it may be all I can do to just notice it. Eventually, I'm hoping that this will become second nature again, this paying attention...
...being the observer of sapphires and rubies in raindrops, being a grateful witness to the sacred dance of the long grasses and discovering new angles on the old gravel roads.
This feels like a new fork in one of those old roads on my writing journey.
4 comments:
Beauty is everywhere once you open yourself to it. You'll see it around you now. =o)
Heck, I live in just about the scrubbiest place in America, and this morning I had a Wilson's Warbler in the bush outside my window. He was just flitting around looking for bugs, oblivious to the world. Maybe that's why I bird watch. No matter where I move to, there are always some beautiful birds around somewhere.
:hugs:
As you are quite aware, I have my own issues with location. I have come to realize, both by talking with others, but also searching for the perfect location -- that truly no place exists. It's all in the mind.
I love that you are going to be writing -- really writing -- and opening up some on this blog.
Write away!
I love it. You're free.
Oh this is wonderful, all of this.
Write. Notice. See beauty. And share what moves you here, with us.
I await your words, your awareness.
And yes, it is hard to not be living in a place that is not your "home", a landscape that resonates. And yes, there is life rushing in everywhere, anywhere you might live.
This was enlivening to read.
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