Who Needs the Baggage? Leave Your Stuff Home

The only thing that matters is the journey. When I set out on my bicycle this morning, I didn’t care when I got there because there wasn’t any there to get to. Eventually I’d end up at home again, but meanwhile — on a perfect summer Sunday morning…

My speedometer broke months ago and I threw it out. Who needs that stuff anyway? I know I’m going fast when I feel the wind in my face and hear the roar in my ears. God invented gravity so I could become a kid again, racing downhill without pedaling. And when I stopped at the top of the next hill to drink in the water, the sun, the summer sky and the quiet, knowing I climbed that bad boy in high gear, I inhaled the joy of the journey.

Who needs the baggage? Who needs the stuff? Where to next? Find the quiet roads (cars count as stuff too) and keep riding — past cornfields where the corn is taller than me, trees in full glory, blue skies, flowers. I could ride forever hearing the birdsong.

I passed a jogger going the other way. She waved. I waved back. I could have said good morning but I had no idea what time it was and didn’t care either because time stopped today. There was only now.

Can you imagine the passion and joy we could bring to our writing if we forget our baggage, if we leave all our stuff home and just write? Write without worrying where we are going or where we’ve been? We can you know.

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Zen and Now

You can’t listen to the birds when your windows are rolled up. The birds sang and chattered to each other and I thanked them. It was quiet. No other sounds but the soft hiss of my tires on the asphalt as I rode along on my bicycle.

What’s beyond the curve in the road ahead? Does it matter?

Where we’ve been doesn’t matter and our destination doesn’t either. Only the journey — only now really matters. To feel the warm sun on your skin, to breathe the fresh summer air, to stop and truly see the young corn growing, the blue sky, the clouds — to hear the birdsong…

Pay attention and see. Pay attention. Hear and feel the world with you in it. Life bubbles to the surface and holds our attention, feeds our imagination, fuels our creativity and enriches our writing.

Life is a creative journey. When you focus on your destination, you miss the depths of now. Let your dragon reach over and roll your windows down. Dive into the pool of the ever present, always changing now. You’ll always bob to the surface refreshed and alive. Being alive and aware of our journey is the point. Live now.

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Writing is Like Cutting the Grass

The hardest thing about cutting the grass is deciding to do it. The easiest part is putting the lawn mower away when you’ve finished. You have a choice. You can either look out your window at the grass that won’t stop growing or you can just cut it, then sit back and enjoy the view later.

View from My Window

Writing is the same way. Why do we find so many excuses not to write? We’re not ready. I need another cup of coffee. I don’t know where to begin. The list is endless. All writers are creative when it comes to making excuses not to write.

Writing is hard work. And the hardest thing of all is getting started. What’s the answer? Begin anyway. Just start writing even if you have nothing to say. The sweat may soak your T-shirt, you may get out of breath, but just keep that lawn mower moving.

Focus on what you’re thinking now. Keep on writing and don’t look back. You can clean up your spelling and grammar later. Keep at it and you’ll find your rhythm, unexpected ideas will pop into your head. Go with them to see where they take you.

When you finish. Rake up and toss the debris. You’ll be surprised at the gems you’ve discovered. Sit back and admire the view. Think about where you’ll go from here and keep writing. You can put your lawnmower away later.

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Writing: The Perfect Moment is Now

Why do people wait? Why is the person in the photo waiting? Maybe he waits for a friend or the next bus? We’ll never know because I never asked. I captured the moment with a photo instead.

The perfect moment is now. Vibrant life is like a swift mountain stream, sparkling in the sunlight, always changing, forever new, forever now. Becoming is the joy of life — moving, discovering, creating, and stretching.

But only if you ask. We can savor the deliciousness of life, the thrill of the creative journey, but only by acting. Will it be perfect? Not likely and you might even (shudder) fail. No — wait. Failure is impossible because failure is a state of mind.

Take an action and no matter what you do, you’ll move closer to your goal. You’ll either find a solution or you’ll discover new information that you didn’t have and never would have gotten by waiting. Each action propels us forward and upward one step at a time.

Do something today. Always wanted to write a book? Start writing. Don’t know what to write about? Write anyway. Write about why you always wanted to write a book.

Write the word book in the middle of a page, circle it and cluster thoughts as they occur to you. Keep going. You just might be surprised at what you discover. But you won’t discover anything if you don’t ask.

Want to start your own blog? Do something about it today. Research blogs. Read other blogs. Make a list of why you want a blog. Just do it — now — today.

Inaction and waiting short circuit our creative being, remove all options for progress and guarantee failure. All life strives toward perfection, but perfection is elusive and always out of reach. Each time we create something better, we raise the bar. We reach higher and higher and that reaching is the real joy of life.

Fear of success? Fear of failure? Fear of not good enough? Fear of the unknown? Does it matter? Without action, if we wait, we’ll never know.

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