As a writer, I am often looking for the “right” word. Sometimes, I am looking for any word. It is the blank page that can either become my most meditative or dreaded moment. I am known to type notes on my iPhone, scrawl words on the back of envelopes, or fill journals (dozens of them) with meditations and ideas. I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing. I may not always be poetic or even grammatically correct, but the joy of writing has always superseded being a perfect writer.
When I feel stuck with writing, I read more, meditate more, and spend time in nature. I try to let go of frustration of not writing and open to what is available as my writing teacher. As my cousin in England recently wrote to me after I expressed my experience of feeling stalled in my writing:
Sometimes the river is full.
Sometimes the river runs low.
But the river is still there.
Everything has its season.
Seasons turn.
She concluded with, “Don’t give up. Keep going with your writing.”
We don’t always know who we touch with our words. So, I am going to keep writing, keep scrawling, and keep dreaming.
What keeps you going? Where do you turn when the river seems low?