I tried many exercises in the various writing groups in which I participated before entering graduate school, and working towards earning my MFA. None left an impression, or stuck with me. This is not to say the exercises held no merit. Instead my focus lay severely on learning to write, as in craft a decent […]
Like an old man watching children at play, we need to see through our own seriousness. No matter how seriously the children go about their games, the old man is amused and never for a moment takes them to be real. We can watch our own thoughts and emotions in the same way. Without taking
Our Words Are But Children at Play Read More »
Buddhism teaches that all things change, and that suffering is inherent to life. As humans we add to this suffering, or rather amplify it, by trying to hold onto the narrative line that we have fed ourselves. We resist the reality of change the various truths evidenced by its existence.
Change, Suffering and Digging Deeper Read More »
interesting day… i interviewed novelist, Thrity Umrigar, on her latest work, The Weight of Heaven. such a nice person. then i wrote several blogs about her. south asian writers have so influenced me–Jhumpa Lahiri, Lavanya Sankaran, Manil Suri, and of course, Thrity Umrigar.. i wish more black and african americans read their work. we could
interesting and blessed day… Read More »
As we open to what is actually happening in any given moment, whatever it is or might be, rather than running away from it, we become increasingly aware of our lives as one small part of a vast fabric made of an evanescent, fleeting, shimmering pattern of turnings. Letting go of the futile battle to
On Writing and Opening Our Hearts and Releasing What Speaks to Our Soul Read More »
Like the crutch used by the dancers in the video, The Dance, we all wear masks. Yet unlike the dancers use of the crutch, free and willing to share, too many of us cling to the mask, hide behind it, make it the one, and only face we show the world. Writers, like all people
Masks and Crutches Read More »
Writers often encounter dry spells, blockages, or what seems a loss of imagination. We most often call this writer’s block. I actually think that writer’s block is a catch-all term for times when we don’t know what to write. Not knowing what to write can occur in many phases of our writing, the outset of