Beginning: Words of a Feather

All week I’ve felt this mixture of anticipation and dread, of raring to go and being stalled. One foot on the accelerator of my life, the other on the brake.

It’s a familiar feeling. And it always heralds some sort of change hovering outside my door. Tapping its foot, waiting to be welcomed in.

This feeling also precedes every writing project I’ve ever undertaken.

Every single one-not just the books, but the articles, the poems, the essays, the broadcast pieces. Even my newsletters.

And now, this brand-new blog.

On the surface, my life in this time of gestation–before the next creation emerges–looks ordinary enough.

Wake up, brush teeth, shower, dress, pray, meditate. Work, work, work. Make meals, eat meals, clean up after meals. Email, Twitter: read and respond. Read books, read magazines, read blog posts. Read the label on the pickle jar.

Pray and meditate some more. Brush teeth, get ready for bed. Snuggle into quilt. Sleep. Dream.

But underneath this seemingly boring surface I can feel the engine of my life revving up . . . brrmm, brrrmmmmmm . . . Thrumming with a finely pitched pulse.

Until the moment when it reaches lift-off.

That’s really what it feels like . . . the ground of my resistance drops away. I’m soaring! Into blue sky, or grey, it doesn’t much matter. I’m soaring!

And the words fly from my fingertips. One word, one sentence, one paragraph. And the next. And the next and next and next until they tumble out in a great feathered flock that sweeps across the page, winging its way to who-knows-where. Into the next great adventure.

Words taking flight. Singing lightness and grace, humor and pathos. Cawing truth and tears, honking easy and hard . . .

Welcome to my blog.

Let’s talk about your creative process. How you enter into it. Straight ahead? Along a winding pathway? Through an underground cave? Deep-sea diving?

Tell me how you begin.