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"Showing up is 80 percent of life."
--Woody Allen
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This summer, after three hours on a transcontinental flight, I stepped into the aisle and did a balancing pose or two. It was awkward, and people were watching. . . .
But I kept at it.
A woman in the row behind me leaned across the seat like a neighbor chatting over a fence. “You have a practice, don’t you?”
“Well, yes—”
She sighed. “I used to practice yoga. I loved it. It felt so good! But I changed my work schedule.” She went on to tell me about her stressful job.
“Is there a different class that would fit your new schedule?” I asked.
“There are a ton of classes,” she said. “But I’ve stopped and can’t get started again.”
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A few days earlier I had lunch with a woman who said, “I felt so much better when I was eating gluten-free.”
“Why did you stop?”
“I went to Italy,” she responded. “It was pretty much impossible to eat gluten-free in Italy.”
“So when did you go to Italy?
“Two years ago.”
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Today, I talked to a writer who confessed he hadn’t written anything since the last time he attended my class, over a year and a half ago.
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It happens to all of us.
We get interrupted in our practice.
The problem is, we mistake stopping for a permanent condition.
Imagine this scene . . .
You’re tooling along a city street in your purple 1989 Volkswagen. You come to a stop sign. You stop, of course.
But then you stay stopped.
Cars line up behind you and start honking. You shake your head and yell out your window, “Can’t you see I’m stopped?”
Sheesh, you think to yourself. I was going along just fine but that sign forced me to stop. You shake your head. I guess I’m not a real driver, or else I wouldn’t be stuck here.
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I’ve had many stopping points in creating, and I’ve learned not to freak out about them. They can happen for many reasons--a shifting schedule, a vacation, an illness, or a work situation.
When you know that stopping cannot stop you, you become invincible in your practice.
Read more about my experience with stopping: including painting, midlife crisis, Sage Cohen, and how to create a Restart Button.
Here's one way to restart your practice.
Burn Wild: The Class
Defying the Critic, Finding Your Voice
Saturday, October 26Saturday, November 2Saturday, November 9at Rouse Portland* 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.There are still a few spaces left!
Hands-on, pulling out the stops, critic busting, challenging, charging, passion-fueling . . . .
*Click on event details, Rouse Portland, and use the button to register and save. ($100 at the door, $75 prepaid.)
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And don't forget these events . . .
- Thursday, October 24, Nov 7: Wildfire Writing at Clark College in East Vancouver. Here is another place to have your creativity validated and meet other gifted, interested writers. We started last week, with a classroom of twenty-four wonderful writers from all walks of life and experience levels.
- Wildfire II, Nov 14 - Dec 19 at Clark College in East Vancouver.
- (Free!) Wednesday, October 30: 7 pm, Wildfire Wednesday at Cascade Park Community Library, featuring Brian Doyle, author of Mink River and numerous novels and works. This is going to be an amazing event which I'm proud to be hosting!
- Wednesday, November 20: 7 pm, Wildfire Wednesday at Cascade Park Community Library, featuring Stevan Allred, author of A Simplified Map of the Real World. Celebrating the book launch of one of my fabulous mentors!
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Also . . .
Keep me in mind as an editor as well as a coach.
Projects include novels, memoirs, blogs, self-help books and more. Currently I am a guest prose editor for VoiceCatcher.
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Need a story prompt?
- Visit the Bookish board for wild and inspiring images.
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