Writing Exercise 24: Nothing

Writing Exercise 24:  Nothing

Today, I am writing in muse-less room.  There is nothing extraordinary about this room, but that is not the problem.  My muse is being muted by Tom Cruise’s voice on the television as he plays Ethan, the man who accomplishes another impossible mission.  So, I write this with him on the television, my son on the couch, and me on my half-hearted self-imposed writing assignment. 

I made several attempts to write something of substance and found myself consistently being distracted.  It could have been the nuclear warhead in the movie or the clicking of my son twirling his hematite necklace around his two fingers on his right hand.  Whatever it was, when I searched for new words to put on the page, I found my voice was blocked.  I tried to write about questions, friends, and sexist dress codes.  Each time I started, all I could manage was a half a sentence, like a sneeze that never comes out, but lingers at the bridge of your nose without relief. 

So I gave into the block, the nothingness.   I started by putting my computer to the side and watched Ethan put on his goggles and wrap a scarf around his face while chasing the bad guy in a sandstorm.  I then realized that my thoughts rested on one word: nothing. And from nothing, something emerged.  I picked up my laptop and started typing, adding to the cacophony of noises in the room.  Soon, I couldn’t decipher which clicking sound was from me typing and which was from the hematite necklace.

This is a spiritual lesson for me as I tend to force things to happen in my life even when it gets difficult.  I see it as a test of endurance and discipline.  Since I started this writing exercise, I committed myself to sit at my computer once a day until I had a somewhat finished product.  And today, as I sat in my stubbornness, nothing was pouring out of me, and I refused to listen.  However, by letting go of my own rigidity, I was able to tap into the muse from within, much like the woman who created the earth (see Got Higher Power?).  By setting my writing aside, both figuratively and literally, I was able to go with the flow from within.  When I put my computer aside, I could finally hear more than Tom or the clicking of my son’s necklace.  I was able to listen to the voice within. 

I started today’s writing with one word.  I started this writing with “Nothing,” and I am grateful for that. I have learned the benefits of going with the flow versus swimming against it.  I have learned to incorporate my environment into my writing, and I have learned to spend time with my son while plugging away on my work.  From nothing, I have gained so much.