Piling Snow in a Silver Bowl

A silver bowl filled with snow, a heron hidden in the moon.—Dongshan 

A rebirth of the arts occurred in Japan during the Muromachi period in the 14th century. Poetry and painting flourished and a form of theater called Noh developed. This form used carved masks and combined mime, dance, poetry, and song. 

Derived from the Japanese word for "skill or talent, Noh is a form of classical musical drama. Developed by Kan'ami and son, Zeami, Noh tells stories of human passion and struggle from an otherworldly perspective with masks and gestures.

Actors train for a lifetime to communicate universal emotion to the audience.



Zeami wrote the book of dramatic theory called the Kadensho. He shares the secrets of achieving the highest accomplishment as a non actor. With nature images as a metaphor, he refers to various levels of artistic achievement in the performing arts as hana or flowers.

Zeami indicates one of the highest levels of accomplishment occurs when an actor captures a moment of beauty:

. . .  piling up snow in a silver bowl . . . the hues that derive from a pure, clean white light, an appearance that gives rise to a real sense of gentleness. Can it not be said that such 

represents the Flower of Tranquility.

Find your moments of beauty.

Explore Playfulness

Take a break from life's demands. Let yourself soar beyond the ordinary.

Dance like Snoopy with joy regardless of skill or grace.

Romp, tumble, roll, and cavort.

Add a laugh or three. Don't take life so seriously.

In these ways, you will begin to explore the frontiers of amusement and amazement.

Experiment with fun and rowdy to penetrate playfulness not yet discovered.

Liberate your inner awesome.

Miracles

"There's nothing surprising about a miracle. Why, it's a miracle every morning 

that I don't melt in my bath." - Pablo Picasso

A non-religious definition of miracle indicates a highly improbably or extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment that brings welcome consequences.

"Miracles come to those who risk defeat in seeking them," writes author Mark Helprin. "They come to those who have exhausted themselves completely in a struggle to accomplish the impossible.

"Risk defeat and be willing to exhaust yourself in the struggle to accomplish the impossible. Do so in a spirit of exuberance motivated by the urge to play," says Bob Brezsny

Consider your life's timeline. Define it by daily miracles. 

Include welcome events, friendships, family 
situations, and happenings-by-chance.

What do you take for granted, like Picasso's bath statement?

If you feel a religious pull, define miracles that support your beliefs.

Explore the magic and mystery of miracles in your life experiences.

Talent

". . . talent is a dreadfully cheap commodity, cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work and study; a constant process of honing.
Talent is a dull knife that will cut nothing unless it is wielded with great force – a force so great that the knife is not really cutting at all but bludgeoning and breaking. Discipline and constant work are the whetstones upon which the dull knife of talent is honed until it becomes sharp enough, hopefully, to cut through even the toughest meat and gristle." - Stephen King from DANSE MACABRE

Consider the talent you bring to your life. When did you first discover a way with words? Did it involve curiosity, a love of words that collided, meshed, and made their appearance into sentences, paragraphs, and stories? 

Did you watch people and tell their stories? In what ways did you pursue ideas with all your senses? What pushed you in a variety of creative directions? 

Who recognized your propensity for writing and showed you ways to study other writers? 

With your mentor’s assistance how did you work at writing . . . really push past frustrations and dead ends to gather the words that shouted your ideas?

Develop a metaphor that defines your writing process.

Go with the Flow

". . .every day on the balcony of the sea,

wings open, fire is born,

and everything is blue again like morning."              

". . .and the water is so busy

with all its blue business

that arrivals go unrealized.

The waves keep up their song."

- Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda held a fascination for the sea. It became a metaphor for his emotions and travels.  In his Isla Negra, he meditated on the nearness of blue.

During my morning runs, the sea behaves in a stroll of moods. The animation stretches my senses. Some days the wave action reflects a satin stillness. In a moment, mounds appear as if a cat has arched its back, pushed forward and then returned to horizontal. Other days the spindrift curls off  a wave's crest like cat claws extended and hidden during movement toward the shore.  

Water moves in a celadon glaze of Chinese porcelain. It reveals a transparency where orange fish swim. A change in season promotes rupture and urgency. Angry in sapphire, wave action polishes the sandstone.  Slush and slap push water in cacophony or symphony. Carried on a mist of salt, scents of cinnamon rolls and coffee mingle on sun-enchanted breezes.

The sea might match my mood or cause me to question my morning's emotions. Imagination tickles each breath untilI notice an elegance of seahorses driven in harness. In an instant they turn into scrambled egg whites. Breakfast calls.

Take time by the sea to notice the changing colors of blue. Observe the shapes and sizes of waves. Let your fancy wander and go with the flow.

Rapid Write

Think about these Six R’s for a Balanced Life:

Respect:  Work on self-esteem from your inside out. Share it with everyone.

Reliance:  Enrich your talents and keep learning with insight.

Responsibility:  Make informed choices. Express gratitude.

Resilience: Don’t let any audience dictate your moods. Stay buoyant.

Renewal: Enjoy moments:  music, laughter, friendships, and fun.

Reverence: Find your dedication to family, friends and discover yourspiritual strength.

Try a rapid write. Start with a different letter of the alphabet. Take 15 minutes to write a wisdom statement extending from six of them.

Go for it.

Absolute Clarity

A few times in my life I've had moments of absolute clarity, 

when for a few brief seconds the silence drowns out the noise and I can feel rather than think, and things seem to sharp and the world seems so fresh. I can never makes these moments last. 

I cling to them, but like everything, they fade. 

I have lived my life on these moments 

They pull me back to the present, 

and I realize that everything is exactly the way it was meant to be. 

- Christopher Isherwood

List your moments of absolute clarity. Describe them with all the senses. Find yourself deep within the experiences.

Take in the array of color. Feel the breeze. Breathe in the mingle of scents. Listen for the collaboration of sound. What else do you taste?

Realize you have possibilities in each moment. Move into the flow with absolute clarity.

Balloon Theory

Observe your flexibility. If you compare yourself to a balloon, what do you need?

What color and shape do you desire in a balloon?

Define a context or an event for your celebration balloon.

Is it time to add or let out some of the air?

Do you need to drift with ease o soar above the clouds?

What if you let the breeze take you, attaching your string to a branch?

Will the birds admire themselves in your shine?

Work with a metaphor to measure your need to adjust mind, spirit, and body.

Happy Thanksgiving

“For each new morning with its light, for rest and shelter of the night, for health and food, for love and friends, for everything thy goodness sends. I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and new.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Research confirms the importance of Gratitude when felt and also shared with others. Subjects were asked to write their gratitudes. After ten weeks in the study, they exhibited major increases in their happiness scores, felt more optimistic, and better about their lives. 

They also reported exercising more and had fewer visits to the doctor following the experiment. The second group wrote about daily problems and situations that left them unhappy. These individuals felt comparably unhappy as a result.

"If thankfulness were a drug, it would be the world's best-selling product with a health maintenance indication for every major organ system," said Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, head of the division of biologic psychology at Duke University Medical Center. Oxytocin, the social bonding hormone, floods the brain and body with euphoria during moments of happiness and feelings of security that can result from a hug.

Enjoy a Grateful Thanksgiving Day.

Day Before Thanksgiving

The day before Thanksgiving provides time to ponder and celebrate gratitude for life's gifts: family, friendships, and discoveries in each moment. 

We live in a world of wonder and uncertainty with the ability to bring balance through writing. Give thanks for each challenge as it turns into an exploration. Celebrate your creativity with gratitude.

Write a thank you note to anyone who has influenced your life. Then, thank someone mentally and self-reflect on his or her importance to your happiness. 

During the day, thank individuals for their smiles or kindness toward you. 

Keep a journal to express and share thoughts about emotional and physical gifts you have received.  

Consider a negative situation that provided guidance and insight.  How did it offer feelings of gratitude?

List your gratitudes and explore the specifics of why they made you happy. 

Grow buoyant, float and fly.  A bit of humor conquers all.  

Appreciate what’s offered regardless of the form. 

Share your attention to detail and have a grateful day.

Play in the Dictionary

“The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.”   

- Vince Lombardi 







Vince Lombardi’s quote inspires dictionary play to notice where words might travel. Open the dictionary at FUN. 

Discover that Fun comes after fumble and fumigate and before function. This reveals you need to have fun to function.


Turning another page at random, find grave. Now that word has several meanings. Notice that it comes after gratitude but before gravy train. The dictionary defines gravy train as a situation where someone can make a lot of money for little effort. That goes against Lombardi’s philosophy.

Continue to let your eyes take you on the dictionary wander.

Humerus comes before humorous and could tickle the funny bone of the hummingbird. Perseverance arrives ahead of persimmon with persistence up ahead.

Doofuss and doohickey wait before doorway with doorsteps and doorstops ahead.





Make gratitude hold more power than gravity as you recall how you will graze your Thanksgiving feast. Hope you do not forget the gravy.

Take a diversion into the dictionary. Play with words discovered there.

Grateful Write Week

Make today the start of a Grateful Write Week. Begin freewriting to develop a flow about thankfulness. 

Lasso words to attract everyone and discover anything that makes your life bounce and race with delight. Take time to write about the inconveniences that creep in.

Write on and on with speed and grace.

You will realize the balance you search for arrives through the pen or while fingers bound across the keys.

After your gratitude exercise, delve into ways to expand your writing skills.

When have you stretched with writing way beyond your comfort level?  What did you write and where did you venture?

If you haven't yet pushed past barriers or climbed cliffs, write for them now.

Scribble with intrigue and fascination. Make your sentences zing and ring with wonder and nuances. Feel the thrill of playfulness in words.

Gratitude Week

“For each new morning with its light, for rest and shelter of the night, for health and food, for love and friends, for everything thy goodness sends. I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and new.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

Research confirms the importance of gratitude when felt and also shared with others. Subjects were asked to write for what they felt grateful. 

After ten weeks in the study, they exhibited major increases in their happiness scores, felt more optimistic, and better about their lives. 

They also reported exercising more and had fewer visits to the doctor following the experiment. 

The second group wrote about daily problems and situations that left them unhappy. These individuals felt comparably unhappy as a result.

"If [thankfulness] were a drug, it would be the world's best-selling product with a health maintenance indication for every major organ system," said Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, head of the division of biologic psychology at Duke University Medical Center. Oxytocin, the social bonding hormone, floods the brain and body with euphoria during moments of happiness and feelings of security that can result from a hug.

Gratitude helps us discover the wonders in life. Happiness and contentment result as by-products, especially when gratitude is shared.

Make it a habit to share gratitude.

Pausitivity

Pausitivity - The feeling of joy and optimism that comes when you stop to take a moment to restore and nurture yourself. - M.H.Clark

Frustrated with life's details, we often avoid "pausitivity" and  reflection in our daily lives. Our culture has created an avoidance behavior because the media often irritates with negativity. 

Awareness becomes the first step to alter the apathy. It has to start with each individual taking responsibility and extending it. Then communication will headline positive people who make a difference.

A positive attitude does not mean sign waving. Thought patterns require reorganization to consider, "What can I do? What are five ways today and then tomorrow?" Shout out what works!

Start with family and friends. Focus on success from the past in order to motivate for the future.

Why point out what's wrong with politicians or use "shoulds" in conversation?  Strive for ways to instigate change in yourself first.

We need more life coaches and less critics. If one person can reach just one, it makes a difference. Alter your kaleidoscope and put thought into five ways you notice greatness in daily life. Show how you have used opportunities to gain positive results.

Share positive solutions with your family and friends and urge them to pass ideas forward.

Each morning begin breathing with gratitude and awareness. Think of five ways to make each moment count. How will you make your presence felt in the world today?  Write about optimism and "pausitivity."


Walk on the Bright Side.

The Power of Catnip and Kryptonite

Elizabeth Gilbert once described a relationship with someone as both "catnip and kryptonite." 

If you have owned a cat, you know catnip's lure. Superman had to avoid his proximity to kryptonite or suffer weakened power.

Do you have a place, situation, activity or person like that? How do you neutralize the obsessive effects on you? How could it empower you to make a good decision about the relationship you will have in the future?

"Judge a moth by the beauty of its candle," said the poet Rumi.

Write about an obsession with something amazing or amusing. What about it confuses or confounds?

Make a list of catnip adventures you'd like to pursue you haven't considered.

Delve into the aspects of Kryptonite that excite. Develop a character who might like to fly into the flame.

Writers need the challenges of approach and avoidance to create works of wonder.

Always add a spark of humor.

Nature Journaling

 “Frog calls and the sound of intermittent splashings drew me to cross the brook on stepping stones that seemed to have been set out for my passage.  A short push through tall, thick growth brought me to an opening at the edge of a pool where the lowering sun cast an otherworldly light across dark water.  It glimmered in dragonfly wings and sporadic silver-beaded sprays tossed up by leaping frogs.  Sweet songs from unseen birds drifted on the still air.  Everything was new to me, every sight, sound, and smell a new experience. “  David Carroll from Self-Portrait with Turtles

Begin your Nature Journal on location. Let the subtlety of your landscape soak in.  

Choose several locations: a park bench, a rock ledge at the beach, a forest or any location where you can sit for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. 

Capture what the landscape sounds like. 

Touch and smell provide a visceral jolt to writing.  

Find out the names of plants, animals and natural forms you observe.  

Free write and let the words direct you.  

Many questions will surface:  Who am I?  Why am I here?  What is my responsibility to nature?  

Try these warm ups:

l. Listen for the sounds of the familiar in your garden: water running, a bird song, dog barks, and wind in trees. What sounds do you identify with home?

2.  Imagine the scent of an orange grove in blossom or a peach tree in the sun. What scents move around you?  What will the sound of rain add? Can you combine the senses in your writing?

3.  Gail Brandeis encourages writers to describe eating a blackberry recklessly. Bring a fruit or vegetable to eat during your journal keeping.  Can you add taste to your writing?

4.  Give flavor and texture to your writing with visual imagery that moves away from the ordinary. Barry Lopez uses raucous purple, coy yellow, prosaic blue, belligerent red.  

5.   Consider the mental senses: pain, fear, love, play, humor, psychic capacity, reason, time and intuition. Can you translate these with concrete descriptions?

Nature journaling will help you discover how nature reveals rhythms and reverence for change from the migrations of animals to the blossoms of spring.

The Write Relationship

Reciprocity rules in relationships that endure.

We also thrive in a reciprocity with writing. For writing to nurture us, we desire the thrills and rhythm to sustain our sense of direction. Writing must provide support as we struggle through the fog. Often this relationship feels unrequited. We push and push clutching for words that drown beyond our reach.

Similar to our relationships with others, we must figure out for ourselves what Aristotle meant by, “Know thyself.”  What do we know about our individual strengths and challenges when churning in a wordless maelstrom? We have to re-create our self-assurance and find a Positive to remind us what works. A "learn thyself" process keeps us going.

Nine Preparations for inclement writing weather:

1. Stock your own life raft while the sun shines. What are your best resources? During the times of flow, write what works for you. What have you done "this time" to push beyond?

2. Challenge yourself to discover ways to return to the page or screen. Turn up the music. Sit there and let fingers fly without worry about the result. Don’t become anxious to create a finished piece.

3. Learn your rhythm. Chart your mind's peaks and valleys by week. Give yourself a day of rest and read a variety of words. Choose words that amuse or amaze. Write one word or one sentence on colored cards.

4. As you begin to learn about yourself, consider: Does creativity increase the closer you get to the deadline? Can you count on this? What other ways could you manage your creativity? Consider setting an earlier deadline to trick the "procrastinating creative."

5. When frustration floods, return to research and information gathering. Write a letter to your writing as a friend. Ask this pal for help.

6. Most breakthroughs occur when you move away from the project. Take a walk. Write about forces of nature deal with weather.

7. Consider improbable connections. Let your ideas rearrange in kaleidoscopic fashion

8. Write your process for all writing projects. Notice it does not progress in a linear fashion. This will become your Best Friend.

9. Create your own metaphor for struggle. Consider your greatest accomplishment and how you achieved it. Use all your senses to recall it in detail.

In a write relationship, we have the ability to discover for ourselves. Learning our rhythms and styles will support us through any weather and become habit. With habit and resilience, we will always have two Best Friends and will benefit from the reciprocity.


Write about how you deal with all types of weather in your writing.

Write about Your Guest House

Guest House

      - Rumi

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.

Rumi makes points about life's randomness and how to deal with it.  

Everyone lives in a house with four rooms physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Acceptance, gratitude, and laughter help us achieve balance when challenges arise in our rooms.  

Write about your unexpected visitors and how they expanded your knowledge of yourself.  Use dialogue and humor to delve into these concerns.