What We Practice

I used to be a list and goal setting person. I’m not so much anymore. It’s not that I'm against those things per say, but instead I find myself moving more towards being in a practice of things. For the sake of learning. Out of a sense of curiosity and a desire to fully experience the seasons of my life. 

It’s been a year since my last cancer treatment. My hair now is just long enough to put back in barrettes. I’m in my toddler era and loving it. Toddlers don’t make lists or set goals. But they have an insatiable desire to get into things and they usually meet some major milestones while doing it. 

I’m feeling compelled to write. As an anniversary gift to myself I purchased Suleika Jaouad’s The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life. It’s a beautiful book filled with short little pieces written by a variety of people, ending each one with a writing prompt. Suleika suggests writing daily. She also says ‘Aim for three pages, but any amount will do. A paragraph. A sentence. A word.’

Writing daily is too much for me. But I believe I can do three pages weekly. I’m going to aim for one prompt a week. My partner is a wonderful writer who has let his pen get away from him for a long while. I’ve invited him to join me. And his adorable 91 year old ‘chosen mom’ is looking for a project to do. I told her about the book and offered to read the chapters to her and audio record her responding to the prompts. She’s interested! We’ll see where this all takes us. I’m excited to find out.