Writing Exercise 22: Zen Writing

Writing Exercise: Describe what is happening now.

My laundry is in the spin cycle downstairs, or rather down the elevator, in the basement.  My son is oversleeping in his halfheartedly cleaned up room when he should be out looking for work.  Me, I am sitting erect at my desk in the living room clicking off the tasks on my list.

Writing this entry has been the most difficult one yet.  As writing what is happening right now is so elusive.  The moment my mind catches a thought, something else is then happening.  It’s like meditating while writing. 

For example, in the last paragraph, I heard people’s voices in varied languages, cars rolling past my block and a plane struggling to gain altitude outside of the window to my left.  However, as I write this, all that has changed, the 4 Train is now rattling by instead.  Focusing inward, I feel my face full of heat and perspiration and can hear the clicking of the keyboard as I type.

All the while, another noise is creeping up psychologically.  In the back of my mind, I keep wondering how I can write about what is happening right now when there are so many things happening, well, right now.  I have to surrender and admit my humanity only allows me to focus on a few things at once.  And my fingers, well, I can only type as fast as I can.  How do writers figure out what to put down and what to let go of?

Well, that may be tomorrow’s entry.  For now, I have to turn my attention to one thing which is walking out of the living room, out of my apartment and taking the elevator to the basement to finish up my laundry.

NOTE: I will be without internet access for 8 days starting tomorrow.  Therefore, I will continue to write my daily exercise and then upload them on Friday, the 10^th.  Until then, I will miss y’all!

If you want to read some of my other work, please check out: www.thoughtsfromafeminist.blogspot.com