Two messages of support and encouragement to continue writing came in the mail to-day. It makes me smile just to think of my writing 'mentors'. I'm so grateful to them. Each week, Sunday afternoon and Monday are assigned for 'Renewal'. To shop, take a longer walk, clean house, do laundry, maybe watch a video... In other words a time to relax and re-charge in preparation for the next week. It is also a good swatch of uninterrupted time to tackle longer writing projects.
It's amazing how pressing the cleanliness of the bathroom can become when there is a writing project in line! So, with the arrival of those messages of encouragement to 'keep going' I have to take note, take heart, and get stuck in with the hammer and chisel! One has a romantic vision of ancients with quill, ink and parchment; of 'religious' carving the sutras for wood block printing and, who ever it was, chipping away in stone somewhere. One mentor wrote, "And it will always be hard work". Not, for sure, the work of 'drawing water and chopping wood' traditional to Zen monastic life, 'honest' work though for all that.
Yes, most of us can 'keep going' and we don't need or require encouragement to continue. However, walking on with a renewed spring in ones step and a smile in ones heart can certainly be a huge help. And, to be truthful, I cleaned the bathroom yesterday, just didn't mop. So, in the end, there are no valid excuses to getting on with what needs to be done. There rarely ever are.
