Sublime

Writing is both sacred and ordinary if ordinary means part of our day-to-day life, and something that anyone can do without any particular training, or money or experience. Yet when we make it sacred in the simplest of ways, by giving it our full attention, we send ourselves an important message about its place in our lives.

Writing, too, is 90 percent listening. You listen so deeply to the space around you that it fills you, and when you write, it pours out of you. If you can capture that reality around you, your writing needs nothing else.

The making of art is not a competitive act. Our work is representative of the self. You would be amiss to say, “I’m not up to the challenge.” Yes, you may need to deepen your craft to fully realize your vision. If you’re not up to it, no one else can do it. Only you can. You’re the only one with your voice.

To hone your craft is to honor creation. It doesn’t matter if you become the best in your field. By practicing to improve, you are fulfilling your ultimate purpose on this planet.

“I am the frost on the window, the cry of a young wolf, the thin blade of grass.” Forget yourself. Disappear into everything you look at—a street, a glass of water, a cornfield. Everything you feel, become totally that feeling, burn all of yourself with it.

Remember, art is an artist-brain pursuit. This brain is reached through rhythm—through rhyme, not reason. Scraping a carrot, peeling an apple—these actions are quite literally food for thought.

three pillars of a contented artist’s life: a regular creative practice, taking in lots of art and experiences, and community.