i've been working. a bit of temp work and late nights. it's been nice to think, hey, an hour has passed and i have earned money. i'd forgotten what that felt like. productivity.
and i'd also forgotten how easy it is to be consumed in the busyness of a day; to invest all your energy into details. you can create a life out of organizational skills development: success as checkmarks on a to-do list.
i yawn.
as i practice stepping back into the world of offices and deadlines, i want to be mindful of what the past seven months have taught me. i want to have an iona perspective in my daily life (see 15 october entry). i carry the quiet and mystery of the island inside me. i do not want to forget and fall away.
because i still have all these stories in my head that i want to bring to life; characters with names. histories. families.
and there are article ideas that i think could make people scratch their heads and say, huh. i never thought about such a thing this way before. maybe there is hope for me.
i don't want my stories and ideas to be victims of my own busyness and distraction.
i do not want to forget and fall away.
Annie, IMO, nothing is more motivating for a writer than an office job. Every time I get one of those, I start writing again. And if I'm unfortunate enough to be relagated to a cubicle, I crank out articles fast and furious. Writing--and getting paid to do it--is the only way I know to slay the dragon of the cubicle. The paycheck part is nice, though.
Don't worry. I predict that you will not "forget and fall away."
Posted by: katy at March 31, 2003 09:28 AM
Annie,
Singing some Taize chants at church yesterday and feeling the mystery creep in had me craving a visit to that mystical place. Hang on to those "stories in your pocket"...
Posted by: Jude at March 31, 2003 09:55 AM
busyness can be a joy stealer. it's a demon that sneakily slips up on you under the guise of regularly scheduled items of the day. funny, i forget to "schedule" time to write so i can re-live little joybits of each day. *sigh* may we both savor and remember the "stories in our pockets" at least long enough to put them on a page, if they are not already written on our hearts.
I'm with you there, Annie -- when the cubicle becomes my reality and steals my inspiration, I have to remind myself to write just to enable me to see the life beyond the beige walls of the cubicle...
thank you, beautiful women, for such great thoughts.
pee ess, jude--i attended a taize service the other night. walked the labyrinth (jenna did too) and it was sososo good for me.