Before you begin, you wanna do research? Uh-unh. I’m putting you on a diet…Research can become Resistance. We want to work, not just prepare to work.*
Steven Pressfield

What you need won’t appear until you need it.**
Oliver Burkeman

I’ll be ready if …
I’ll be ready when …

Not enough
is enough
when it opens all we have
around us and within us–

So we stay open,
We begin–
The unfolding adventure
better than planned–

*Steven Pressfield’s Do The Work;
**Oliver Burkeman’s The Imperfectionist newsletter: Things I’m Still Learning About Writing.

SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE
THIN|SILENCE FROM A YEAR AGO

(Text from the adjoining page: We are fearfully and wonderfully made, a mystery wrapped in a question)

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.*

It’s about discovering with all that we are intended to be, with awe and wonder.**
Sunil Raheja

*Psalm 139:14;
**Sunil Raheja’s Dancing With Wisdom.

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SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE
THIN|SILENCE FROM A YEAR AGO

A plot-driven story calls for a protagonist driven by a desire that originated outside of himself; a character-driven story favours a protagonist who follows a desire that originated within himself.*
Robert McKee

Every so often,
I’ll be sharing
a portion of the images**
from my colouring book
Slow Journeys
in
the Same Direction–
You’re welcome
to print these
for colouring in–
Not quite a labyrinth
but they’ll slow you down.

*Robert McKee’s Character.

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SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE
THIN|SILENCE FROM A YEAR AGO

The act of focusing on what we focus on pays enormous dividends.*
Seth Godin

I saw that there’s no word for spiritual in the Hebrew scriptures…So basic, and yet so revolutionary. There’s no word for spiritual, because to call something is spiritual would be to imply other things aren’t.**
Rob Bell

I notice
what I notice and you notice
what you notice–

We are people
who see this
and it leads to that–

There’s more
to this world
than meets the first look–

You and me–
We’re going to follow
our look–

Staring–
Gazing–
Never glancing.

*Seth Godin’s blog: Paying attention to attention;
**Rob Bell’s Everything Is Spiritual.

SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE
THIN|SILENCE FROM A YEAR AGO

I keep a journal of failure and disappointment…Whenever something is really bothering me, I don’t just stew on it…I write it down in a few words what is bothering me…I reserve it for things that I’m genuinely worried and anxious about or that make me sad or angry…It is an extremely powerful technique called metacognition which means thinking rationally about my own emotions.*
Arthur Brooks

Stress and worry tend to be higher before you act. Without action, all you can do is worry. Once you begin, fear shrinks as you start to influence the outcome.**
James Clear

To write this down
is an action–

To open a notebook and place it ready
is an action–

To buy the pen and notebook^
is an action–

The thought or feeling
has some place to go–

One small action
will lead to another and another–

*Arthur Brooks’ The Meaning Of Your Life (Brooks leaves two spaces after each entry – returning after a week and a month to record the benefit that has come through whatever the painful thing is);
**James Clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter: On making the most of shortcuts, how to reduce worry, and the kindness of mastery;
^Digital is okay, analogue is best because of how the brain engages.

SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE
THIN|SILENCE FROM A YEAR AGO

The shape of our knowledge becomes the shape of our living; the relation of the knower to the known becomes the relation of the living self to the larger world.*
Parker Palmer

Two good places
for growing what we know
are here
and today.

*From David Brooks’ How To Know A Person.

SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE
THIN|SILENCE FROM A YEAR AGO

Dawdle (verb): 1650s, intransitive, “to idle, waste time,” perhaps a variant of daddle “to walk unsteadily.” Perhaps influenced by daw (jackdaw), because the bird was regarded as sluggish and silly. Not in general use until c. 1775. Related: Dawdled; dawdling, dawdler.

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SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE
THIN|SILENCE FROM A YEAR AGO

Qualities of great wanderers: curious, inquisitive, non-conformist, rebellious, daring, revolutionary, innovative, visionary, self-sufficient.*
Keri Smith

*Keri Smith’s The Wander Society.

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SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE
THIN|SILENCE FROM A YEAR AGO

Slowing down is about asserting the importance of contemplation, connectedness, fruition, and complexity. *
Lauren Elkin

Every so often,
I’ll be sharing
a portion of the images**
from my colouring book
Slow Journeys
in
the Same Direction–
You’re welcome
to print these
for colouring in–
Not quite a labyrinth
but they’ll slow you down
.

*Maggie Berg and Barbara Karolina Seeber’s The Slow Professor;
**The actual image is twice as large as this.

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SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE
THIN|SILENCE FROM A YEAR AGO

When seeking guidance, don’t ever listen to the tiny-hearted. Be kind to them, heap them with blessings, cajole them, but do not follow their advice. If you have ever been called defiant, incorrigible, forward, cunning, insurgent, unruly, rebellious, you’re on the right track. Wild Woman is close by.*
Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Don’t listen to me–
Not yet–

One day, I’ll have something
to say that will be helpful–

I’m working on it–
Until then, don’t give up on me–

Don’t make it easy–
I grow most through difficulty–

Another day–
I step into the journey again–

*Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ Women Who Run With The Wolves.

SOME RANDOM THIN|SILENCE
THIN|SILENCE FROM A YEAR AGO