Breathe
If nothing comes
Find a prompt
(Photographs usually work.)
Start again
Breathe
Quiet mind
Write what comes
Don’t argue with the words
It’s OK to not like what they say
Write them anyway
It’s OK to not have the right words
Write down the wrong words
The right ones can be found later
Wait or pause whenever it feels
Like the words aren’t coming… yet
Or the meaning isn’t right… yet
And the right way isn’t present… yet
Quiet mind
Breathe
Take the time
To let them come
To let them flow
When they flow
Don’t stop
Stop, when it feels OK to stop
Stop, when the words feel true
If the words feel true
They are authentic
Whether or not they seem beautiful
Whether or not they seem important
Whether or not they seem angry
Whether or not they seem loving
Whether or not they seem … whatever
This is the hard part
Whether or not they hurt a little to read
Or hurt a lot
It seems, though
Authentic words are never hurtful
Nor bitter
Nor righteous
There is no deceit in them
Nor guile
The ego is not authentic
Not all words which come
Need to be shared
Even authentic ones
Some words were only ever intended
To speak truly to a readership of one
But, consider sharing them anyway
The word could use a little more
Authenticity
Ming Sha Shan
(The Mountains of Singing Sands)
Dunhuang
Gansu Province, China
Taken during travels, 1998
I can never resist a question, rhetorical or otherwise, in its intended context or the one one I prefer. So, I roughed out this post in a reply there.
Pix to Words 