Dear Pogue,
You know our letters manage to find their way to other people and they read them which really is rude! Where have manners gone I ask myself? Well, that aside, one of the letters found its way to a lady in America (yes, I know. Unbelievable) and she wrote to me asking a number of questions as she was thinking of writing a book and would maybe precede this with a blog. What did she ask? Well question about why I wrote. She also commented that, not being as patient as I appeared to be in respect of finding followers she might struggle to persist.
So I responded because, well it’s only polite to reply when a nice lady has taken the time to write and the essence of my reply was, “Why do you need to write?” In asking this question of her I was bound to turn it on myself. Way back I wrote to you and, if my memory serves me, I told you that I write for me. You just happen to be the person who benefits from this fount of wisdom. I did back then and I do now. Oh yes, it’s really nice to have people want to read what I’ve written and nicer still if they comment or email me. But, bottom line, if no one ever read the letters I think I’d still write and it was during the course of these thoughts, these musings as I replied my enquirer that I began to realise, for me writing has become a meditation. I told the lady for she, with her questions, had enabled me to see this
We think of meditation as an exercise in mindfulness, in losing oneself to the world and becoming empty minded. Of pulling away from the concerns of the world and entering a place of serenity and that is the principle form of meditation. I’ve done it in a poor fashion. The mind really resists being turned off! But what if we clear our thoughts or become so focused that inspiration can just flow through us? What if we are so lost in what we are doing that we begin to see things we never knew were there. New possibilities. Insights and inspirations. Even ‘God talk’ as we open ourselves, shun reservations and chose to believe that the Divine is moving our thoughts.
I usually feel ‘better’ after writing you a letter, especially if I have launched out with an idea and, much like a flower, it has gradually bloomed before my eyes as words cling to paper. Sometimes I become lost in my writing, detached from my surroundings, connected to something within from where the words flow. Is this a meditation? The peace and clarity I sometimes feel afterwards suggests ‘yes’.
So, here’s a Musing for this Monday. If you have something you do well (not that I claim to do writing well), something you can lose yourself in, allows you to create, to bring forth from what you find within yourself, to come to a sense of peace and fulfillment ask yourself, “Is this my meditation? Has this caused me to be more aware of the Universe and my part in it? Do I begin to feel connected to God?”
Maybe the practice of meditation is a whole lot more diverse than we have allowed ourselves to believe and we’ve got ourselves fixated on sitting cross legged, first finger pressed against thumb, eyes closed pushing away the thoughts that keeping sneaking back in. Now, did I leave the kettle on?
Have another magnificent week,
Wic.
Letters To Pogue 
Wonderful!!
It’s always nice to read through your posts as you bring out the bonafide meaning of emotions within us..
Obviously.. We must carry on with our hobbies not to impress someone but because we love to do that particular thing… And that is when the real beauty reflects in our performance.. And meditation according to me is calm and composed mind that can think freely and act creatively amidst all the hustle and bustle in life.. And one very accurate way to do this is writing… Even I do so very often.. !!
Whenever I feel so frustrated… Or even when I feel so rejoiced… And I have no one to share my thoughts.. I lay them down on paper with my pen… And finally.. I feel relaxed.. No Complains.. No frustrations.. Only a free, optimistic mind.. 😊😊
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Thank you. Continue to enjoy your writing 😎
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I love to write when there is no pressure which is where I started and still do with blogging. Thoughts flow in my mind and I need a place to unload them and blogging gives me that. As for writing a book, different story, I feel pressure when I don’t write but there are times there is no flow. All the advice on writing a book says to write every day…which I have not done, which means I am still writing a book. I facebook a lot, easy for me since those writings are short, usually a quote that often times is a spring board for a short piece from my mind. All this to say, right now I am contend with what little writing I do and it pleases me. I know what I need coming into my mind so I feed myself on others blogs, books, etc. I started a bible study about three weeks ago, seven women attend and I told them I pray they get something from it but I actually started it for me. I am a needy women and hungry for truth and fellowship with sisters that are not afraid to live truth. My gifting of exhortation loves to help others grow and make it through this old troubles world so teaching flows from that too. All this sounds a little, “its all about me”, reasoning. Here is what I have learned through this…if I am being challenged and being made content then the giving out to others will flow naturally. You do what comes naturally Wic, can’t help yourself, would do harm to you if you stopped and the blogging world would feel the loss. I appreciate your writing and covet your comment to my comments. Yep I need encouragement as much as the next blogger. Thankful for it, like giving it to others. Blessings.
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Well, to Wic and Pragati, this is the “nice American lady” who–I guess I’ll take the credit– was the muse behind this Monday’s Musing. And I do indeed believe, with both of you, that one can also tell whether what one’s completed is “a meditation” or not, and both of you note it: it results in a sense of peace, and if you’re lucky, a little clarity. That’s on the back end. On the front end, I suppose, is the inkling of intention.
It’s with some dubious pleasure when, at the end of an introductory, required 6-week intensive “Arts in New York City” class, my freshman students conclude, “Art can be anything.”
Well, ah, “Y-no.” Not really, but the breadth of its instantiation is almost limitless. It’s one of those things that can be defined so generally that it sort of eludes any specific identification. So, maybe, “Yeah.”
So, meditation for some may be in running, walking, gardening, petting the cat, yoga poses, guided visualization, lectio divina, listening to or playing music, nursing an infant, gazing at stars, touching trees, painting and of course, writing…
At any rate, Wic, I love that you share your mediations, and so glad for Pogue’s presence in your life to evoke them.
Gratefully,
A.Mused
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