A Whole Lotta Nothing:
the practice of not doing.
"And then your effort becomes invisible."—Shunru Suzuki
Sounds crazy, but the most important thing I do every day is nothing. It
is a practice that creates nothing, yet creates everything. It is the most uncomfortable, valuable time that I
spend. Here’s how I do nothing: I choose a spot to sit. I sit. I stay a while.
That's it.
It’s mostly impossible, the doing of nothing. At the same time, it’s very easy.
When I’m doing nothing, I feel aches and pains, warmth, tingles, chills, complaints, tightness, impatience, restlessness, lust. My mind fills with fears, impulses, regrets, desires, appointments, TV shows, grocery lists, sadness, terror, joy, traumatic memories, contentment, beloved faces, betraying faces, story plots, breakfast sausage, protests, longing, leftover pizza, the inane song in my head.
I can’t change the thoughts or run away or distract myself or make something happen.
Doing nothing allows life to just be, along with its torrent of thoughts. Doing nothing teaches me that the good stuff arises independently of my conscious control. In writing, this means everything.
There will always be a new idea, something to say. When the story is patchy or implausible or weak, I don’t have to jump up and do something.
I stay. Wisdom will come. Solutions will come, just like problems. When I do nothing, I find Center, I find peace. I’m not capitulating in defeat or indulging my lazy side or avoiding anything. I’m acknowledging a greater Source of my creativity and life.
Working one-to-one with writers week in and out, I also do nothing. Leading others into nothing. Observing the changes and words and growth and authenticity that arises when there's no more efforting.
Leading classes for you: again, more nothing. Whether on Zoom or (someday soon again) in a live setting, we close our eyes together. We breathe. We relax. We stop forcing ideas, pushing agendas.
We tell stories; we write them; we read them. No longer do we have to make things happen.
We experience heartbreak, horror, violence, a scream in the night, or an officer’s knock at the door. We feel humor and warmth: giant clown cookie shoes; a mother-in-law in robe and curlers.
We acknowledge zest and surprise, a buttercup-yellow meyer lemon, a kiss on the nape of the neck, a car radio playing as we drive a dusty desert road.
Our writing, our creating, our art, and our lives brim over. We stop trying to fix the world. We surrender, holding nothing we can grasp, moving beyond our tiny brain-space, freed to experience the universe. In doing nothing, we are overtaken with story and truth and wonder and love—that is to say, we are doing our best work, in everything.
Opportunities
1) A writing client. One-to-one, I've coached nearly one hundred writers in the conception, creation, and development of now-published guidebooks, self-help books, memoirs, blogs, children's books, nonfiction, short stories, articles, newspapers, and poems. From age 9 to age 94, many have won national awards. They have experienced the joy of seeing their words in print for the very first time.
2) A creative journey client.
You may not care about publishing outcomes. As a Creative Journey Companion, I co-create rewarding experiences tailored to what your heart is calling for. This is about who you are as a human being on a spiritual and creative path. I'm thrilled to witness you.
I also have openings in a private Wildfire Writing class.
Wildfire Writing goes independent and online over summer. Receive private instruction with pre-screened, committed writing comrades. Grow in your craft.
Dates: Wednesday evenings, June 16 - July 28 Time: 6:30 - 7:45 pm Fee: $150.00
Whatever creative practices you're choosing for yourself, wishing you a glorious Spring.
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