I must confess,
nothing I write here will be revolutionary.
You likely will have heard it from others,
or whispered it to yourself
when that part of your brain
that acts as traffic controller for your emotions
lets a little
sympathy for yourself
through.
My lack of creative output is justified.
What would be the point of
whipping myself with an empty page?
Or simultaneously picking up all the unread books in my apartment?
The metaphorical weight is sufficiently crushing.
When the world began to slowly –
then rapidly –
shut down, there was so much uncertainty.
Much of it remains.
The reach is immense. Every one of us
is affected.
You may find yourself
measuring your accomplishments by
markers that were set
in previous years,
as I do.
And while nihilism has never been
an outfit I’ve owned,
this past month I have struggled to get out of bed.
So when I do, everything else is a bonus.
Those two hundred words written,
those three pages read.
You showed up at work.
You got through the day.
You showed those around you
a little kindness
(including yourself).
(The last is
aspirational
for me.
But that does not mean
I stop trying.)
Fiona McKay
Beautiful Michael. Be kind to yourself. These words hold a whole month of creativity. Your life has been on such a high. It may make the low seem even lower. Writing a few words, not to create the great Australian novel but to write, is still writing. See it as a way to pause and explore…. Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way talks about writing 3 pages of longhand each morning. Flow of consciousness. Whatever comes. Remember, even the writing of your feelings, your angst, nothing publishable, will help your mental health. But also may give you insights for later writing. It’s a detour. You’ll be all write.
andrew conacher
some good writer’s advice from one of your favourite aunties, with whom you have a special writers bond. i believe that every creative act like writing or, in my case architecture, or messing around in the shed, is a magical act.
there is nothing and suddenly there is something with beauty and meaning and you did it. ta daaa, take a bow to yourself. my advice, for what its worth, is get up in the morning, have a good strong cup of tea, look out the window ( not necessarily all in that order) and then start in on the day’s business as auntie fiona says. you could publish a book of edited three page essays………..the most of michael’s morning musings