There is so much not to say. What does that even mean? It means, I think, if I understand what just popped out of my mind, that writing is hard. That there's so much to say that it's hard to know what to say. That's not to say that I don't want to. I want to. More than anything. I want to write. I want to. I'm doing it. I'm living this dream that I started nearly three years ago. The Writing Life. Now it's a matter of making the Writing work every day in the Life. It's hard. It's supposed to be. You don't choose this occupation for the ease of sitting down and writing what matters. Don't make it easy. I make it too hard, I think.
Keep it down. I need the quiet to think, to settle, to breathe. But I learned something today. Something that I have to remind myself of too often, remind myself to have human contact. Human contact. Seems simple, but for me it seems to be hard.
"I went broke believing that the simple should be hard." Yes. That's what I'm doing with a lot of my life. My instinct is that things are not simple. That having fun and being myself are hard. That having friends is hard. And that's a quote from the song of the summer that's reminding me that "every day is a start of something beautiful." "All We Are" by Matt Nathanson.
I'm somewhat sympathetic to the large issue (beyond writing) that you bring up in your post.
ReplyDeleteWriting is easy. Realizing you have nothing of substance to say is the hard thing.
Kari is an incredibly observant,thoughtful person with a rich and many-layered life who has lots to say. I can vouch for that. It's simply not a case of "ex nihilo nihil fit"--nothing can come from nothing-- for Kari. The inner poverty of having nothing to say is mostly a problem of negative self-talk, of starving one's own gifts. As well, it may be an issue for those folks who have not yet fully learned how to see or to engage their minds with deep and complex concepts. Not being totally in love with Ted Kooser's limited defintions of what makes a memorable poem hopefully doesn't mean one has no literary potential, though Kari seems to appreciate these more than I. By the way, showing empathy is usually a more welcome gesture toward others than taking sympathy.
ReplyDeleteFellow Workshopper