Friday Writings #147: What soothes you?

 

Hello, dear Wordsmiths. You may have noticed my complete lack of participation the last couple of weeks. Those who follow me elsewhere on social media know why; for the rest of you, it’s because I went to hospital – supposedly for a straightforward gall bladder removal, but various complications required a second procedure and kept me in longer. Luckily it’s a brand new, state-of-the-art hospital in our locality, and with beautiful views from the windows.

Still, I got a bit scared at times about my condition. All is now well resolved, I hasten to add, but while I was in some anxiety a dear friend told me that in such situations she recites Kubla Khan to herself, finding its metre soothing. I tried it and it did work – so long as I stuck to the first verse; after that the language and ideas demand attention in their own right, which interferes with the relaxation effect.

Since coming home (and finding that healing takes a lot of energy) I have been re-reading Three Simple Lines by Natalie Goldberg, the story of her pilgrimage through Japan to find remembrances of the great haiku masters (Basho, Buson, Issa, Shiki). It’s beautifully clear prose, somewhat like the spare simplicity of a good haiku – and she quotes a number of haiku in it. I'm finding that reading this has a calming effect. 

 

(In hospital I wrote haiku. It began spontaneously with the first one:

suddenly
from my hospital bed
bright moon

I think that's a good haiku. The rest are really senryu, human-centred, with a touch of humour.

Doing this was something which soothed me, too.)

Optional Prompt: I wonder what soothes you in times of pain or fear? Please answer this question, in poetry or story.

Guidelines: One post per person, 369 words maximum, on the prompt or any other subject. Please read and comment on others' responses too.

Next week, Magaly will invite us to find inspiration in ‘bittersweet October’.

Friday Writings #87: What Pleases You?

 

 Greetings, dear Wordsmiths –

I'm sure I've mentioned more than once that my favourite writer for writers is Natalie Goldberg, and my favourites of her books are the first two she wrote in that capacity: Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind. I still return to them for inspiration, and for the pleasure I take in her clear and engaging writing. (The photo below shows how well-used my copies are!)

One of the chapters in Wild Mind is called Pleasure.  It recounts the tale of someone who had a severe nervous breakdown in her twenties, and completely lost touch with who she was. She was lucky enough to find a therapist who gradually restored her to herself. This started with the therapist asking her ‘to find one thing that she liked, just for herself,’ not because anyone else, or society in general, said it was good, and not to impress other people.

‘Finally … she came up with one thing. She knew, irretrievably, just for herself, that she honestly liked the taste of chocolate. From that one pleasure, she and the therapist began the reconstruction of an authentic life.’

Goldberg goes on to talk of the ‘deep pleasure’ that not only reading but writing can be.  She finishes the chapter with a prompt, and I pass it on to you :

Your optional prompt this week is to answer the question, What pleases you?

(Yes, that sounds a bit like Rommy's 'glimmers' prompt from last week, but I don't see why we can't have two prompts in a row which accentuate the positive.)

Goldberg says to first make a list of things that please you, 'all for yourself, not because your mom, your girlfriend, your aunt likes it,' and then to write about one of the pleasures on your list. 

She adds, ‘It is a very kind act to take a friend’s hand and show him or her the pleasure you have in something. Write with this in mind, as though you were sharing it.’

Guidelines

Goldberg's instruction to her readers is to write for ten minutes. Here, we don't mind how long you take,  but we do ask you to limit your piece to 369 words max (excluding title). 

It can be poetry or prose, old or new. Please post it to your blog and link to that post via Mister Linky below.

(If the prompt doesn't inspire you, please feel free to share something else you've written.)

For next week, Magaly will invite us to write poetry or prose, which includes a cliché used in an unusual way.