The wonder of putting pen to paper

A long, long time ago, I purchased a copy of A Writer's Book of Days by Judy Reeves (my friend from the Southern California Writers Conference). It's a lovely collection of writing advice, along with a writing prompt for each day. I read the book, loved the advice, but couldn't bring myself to tackle the prompts.

Until now.

Judy has released a new edition of the WBoD, which got a great review in O.C. Writers*, so I dug out my old original, turned to January 1 and thought, eh, why not try these prompts? And why wait until January? 

So on August 17, I began with "Write about a Sunday afternoon."

I'm now almost through January and it is nothing like I thought it would be. I believed I'd turn every prompt into some kind of "Dear Diary" entry, where I would make each session about me and my life. That would bore me to tears and I probably could not finish the prompts under those conditions.

Instead, it feels like magic.

via GIPHY

When I open the book in the morning, I look at the prompt, nestle into the pillows on the daybed in my office, and set the tip of my pen onto the paper. And I never know what's going to come out until it appears. Sometimes I am writing a diary entry. Some prompts end up as essays on life, spirituality, whatever. Fiction, both flash and pieces of the book I'm writing, come along. What surprises me most are the poems.

Who knew?

None of them are perfect, and they're not meant to be. They're the motor oil to my engine, the grease in my cogs, the lubricant that energizes my creative soul. They are my reminder that I write because it is a joy and a privilege to do so. 

Here's a link to Judy's book, via Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore (because we should support our indies): https://www.mystgalaxy.com/book/9781577319368

And here's a poem. The prompt is "Write about leaving."

It is spring and
    the tree puts out leaves.
It is leaving.
In the fall, the leaves turn color, turn brown
   They leave the tree.
I do not have leaves,
   But I extend the tender shoots
      Of who I am,
        Kindness and cruelty,
           Healing and pain,
             Creativity and sloth.
I watch the tree and do not kid myself.
My shoots are not infinite,
   And someday, I too, shall be leaving.

*Link to the review at OC Writers: https://oc-writers.com/2020/08/17/marissas-take-on-a-writers-book-of-days-a-spirited-companion-lively-muse-for-the-writing-life-revised-edition-by-judy-reeves/

Sometimes I do stupid things that work

 I suppose that makes them not-stupid things, but they feel stupid at the time.

I'm always on a quest for self-improvement, self-enlightenment, self-mo-bettering. I want to always be much muchier than I am. To that end, I read books and meditate and try stuff to add to my spiritual umph. 

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One of the things I was reading said to say five positive things aloud before you go to sleep. This proved difficult because not only couldn't I think of five positive things when I'm exhausted and want to go to sleep, I tend to be focused on sleep and forget that I'm supposed to be doing anything else.

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Serendipity stepped in with a blog (God help me, I forgot which blog it was) that listed TEN positive statements for writers. It recommended saying them aloud first thing in the morning, which was much more doable. I printed them out, set them next to my bed, and went to sleep.

In the morning, after I had done the must-do morning stuff (pee, feed the dogs, stretch my arthritic joints), I sat down, picked up the statements and read them. Aloud.

Let me state for the record that I felt distinctly stupid. Reading "I" messages out loud embarrassed the poop out of me. I even scoffed and argued with a couple. ("Today I am brimming with energy and overflowing with joy. Oh, really?")

Regardless (and I don't care if they're adding it to the dictionary, irregardless is NOT a word), I kept getting up every morning and stating these ten positive statements aloud. I read them until I'd memorized them. Then I said them again.

After a few weeks, the damnedest thing happened: I started to feel their truth in my bones. Four of the ten began to live in me all the damned time! They were:

1. I am the architect of my life; I build its foundation and choose its contents. I was now actively choosing what kind of messages I let into my head and heart each day.

2. A river of compassion washes away my anger and replaces it with love. This completely changes my response to rude people!

3. Happiness is a choice I make every day. Remember that thing about choosing my own contents? Yep.

4. My body is healthy, my mind is brilliant, and my soul is tranquil. Is there anything else I need?

I admit, I still feel pretty stupid saying things aloud, even when I'm saying them alone, within the closed confines of my office. But one by one, they're all starting to "stick." I even added two more that I felt I needed to hear.

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Before anyone asks, here they are. I apologize for not being able to credit the original author, but if anyone recognizes them, hit me up and I'll edit this! In the meantime, tailor them to fit your needs. And as always, your mileage may vary.

A Dozen Positive Declarations For Your Life

1. I am the architect of my life; I build its foundation and choose its contents.

2. Today I am brimming with energy and overflowing with joy.

3. My body is healthy, my mind is brilliant, and my soul is tranquil.

5. I forgive those who have hurt me in my past, and peacefully detach from them.

6. My body is active; I love to move.

7. A river of compassion washes away my anger and replaces it with love.

8. I have been given endless talents which I utilize daily.

9. My writing is growing, expanding, and thriving.

10. Creative energy surges through me and leads me to new and brilliant ideas.

11. I do the work to take my natural talent to new heights.

12. Happiness is a choice I make every day.

Namaste.

Reflections on a horse show

I normally post horse stuff on Snoopy's blog, but I haven't figured out quite what to do about that, now that Snoopy is living la vida grande at the retirement home and horse shows involve my new horse, Dhani.

I feel like a traitor.

But this post is about more than just showing my horse. It's about perception and expectation and trying to see one tree when it's the forest that's in view.

I was excited to go to the Sun and Surf Circuit in Del Mar. I love Del Mar. Niki and I usually have a great time, the arenas are nice, and there's a couple of restaurants I enjoy (perhaps a little too much). Got my bags all packed by Tuesday night, loaded up Wednesday and off we went. I was showing on Thursday and Saturday, and Niki was showing on Friday.

On Thursday, Dhani was a little "on the muscle" -- that is, he wanted to GO. There were seven obstacles. Throughout each obstacle, I got him to the correct line, felt confident that we were doing well, then over the last pole, I'd hear "thunk." He hit it with his back foot. Every. Freaking. Obstacle. At the end, we had to walk through a gate, over a pole. He actually stood on the pole with one delicate hoof.

No, this does not count as an "extra." My placing and my scores reflected the go. Not good.

On Saturday, I vowed to do better. It was a horrible warm-up. I felt like my legs weren't pushing into him enough, I couldn't get him to lift his back and legs. He was clunking one pole in everything I tried. I was fighting for everything. I went into the arena on the verge of tears.

The first obstacle was my nemesis from Thursday, the gate with the pole. Dhani crept toward it, bent his body around the gate, picked his feet up oh-so-carefully, and walked on. I was heartened. For, like, 20 seconds. This time, I think he hit poles on four of the seven obstacles. The obstacle I worried about the least ended up looking sloppy because he kept taking a baby stride before going over the pole (also known as "chipping"). The obstacle that I had practiced and practiced, he acted like he'd never done before, so I ended up dragging him around it. By the time we got to the backup, he was sullen and I was teary-eyed again. We at least finished with a lovely walk over the last poles.

Niki tried to tell me that a lot of it was good, but I didn't want to hear it. She reminded me that this was my first show in the upper division, which I knew, but I discounted it. I was upset. 

"We aren't getting any better," I told her.

"Yes you are getting better," she said. "The courses are getting harder."

She reminded me of all the mistakes I used to make that I didn't make. I found my lines, I steered my horse, I was able to correct him in the moment. I kept him moving forward. I focused.

I took everything in that she was saying and thought, "Okay. Sure. But I still sucked."

Until I saw my score sheets. Yes, I was penalized for all the poles he hit, but I got a lot of plus points for doing some things well. My scores were high. I even got 3rd place from one judge!

My expectation was that, because I'd been improving at the lower level, I'd continue that trajectory when things got harder. That was incorrect. Harder means you start building again.

My perception was that I had done a horrible job on the course. That was incorrect, at least in the judges' minds. I'm always going to be more critical of my performance than anyone else is.

I was so focused on doing it PERFECTLY that I could not see past my mistakes. That was unfortunate, because I forgot to go out and have fun seeing what Dhani and I could do together.

What did I learn? That expectation is a joy-killer, perception needs time to cook properly, and you should always remind yourself of your intention before you dive into anything.

I feel better now.