blank canvas
Today is a clean canvas. (at least as far as my writing is concerned!)
When there is nothing that has been pre-assigned or planned ahead, you can choose how to fill it.
This can be good (flexibility, responsiveness, following the whims, wants, and needs of the day), or it can be ineffective (lacking in a plan for success) – depends on the context and scenario, I suppose.
Each season warrants its own necessities and approach. Often, a surplus in one direction leads to needing the other direction to balance it out.
Today, in my writing, is a clean canvas.
For many days, I had a short list of prompts and topics that has come to me that I hadn’t yet written out, so I knew when I sat down to write, those topics were awaiting my attention.
I’ve now gotten through that mini list, so my writing slate is clear. I can write about anything I want (for better or worse). There are no prompts. There are no instructions or lists (in this small area of my life at least!). Only “write.”
Actually, I’ve been keeping the recurring daily reminder in my phone: “BLOG.” I don’t follow it daily — not even close, right now.
For one, maybe I should adjust the reminder to a frequency I think I can really stick to again and then actually do it each and every time the reminder pops up on the screen, rather than seeing it powerlessly appear every day, only to be ignored again.
Secondarily, perhaps a reminder to “write” would be better than “BLOG.” A more welcoming invitation. At this point, it’s not so much that I need reminding to complete the finished product, to get some posts published… Maybe right now I need reminding that I love writing and want to stick with the practice.
I’m showing up for the work and joy of writing. The loving dance and internal transformation.
Not only for growing the catalog of results on the blog.
Today is a clean slate to write.
Many days, I wish my daily available hours to exist and live and experience were also a clean slate.
I am in an extremely lucky position of loving my job, making enough money for better opportunities (more so than ever before), having a lot of fun, and being excited about what’s coming up in the near and distant future. It’s not lost on me how incredible it is to have a job and this much in my life I’m this happy with.
And yet, it comes with the challenge of how to juggle a fast-paced, full-time, forty-hour work week, along with a marriage and home and chores and hobbies and personal life and friendships and dog and free time and rest and and and…
This is really hard! We are two days away from Thanksgiving break, which means a four-day weekend, and that’s beyond welcomed. It’ll still be very busy (meals and festivities with two different sides of the family Thursday and Friday, helping friends with moving and hosting them at our house Friday night through Sunday, possibly even trying to get a Christmas tree and put up lights and decorate!), but hopefully it will also hold rest and a break from the usual. A respite from the customary pace and obligations. A change of schedule and scenery. Some time away and time to recharge.
After this, I’m taking a quick solo trip out of state the following week, very exciting! Then another week of full work, and then two entire weeks off together!
We are ready and really excited for our two week holiday. Half of it will be spent on very fun travel, and there will be some busy-ness with celebrations with family, but there will also be a stretch of four or five days with almost no plans, and that is very anticipated.
In that stretch, my days can be their own forms of blank canvases.
