“Just sit. Just sit!” It is what I have to tell myself when I am feeling the urge to observe through drawing or writing. It is not easy for me to sit. I somehow feel more productive when I am up and about, running, cleaning, skiing, cooking – somehow productive means on my feet in my little mind! Yet I know, inside, that productivity comes in many forms. I can feel productive when I sit and read, when I write, when I draw, when I sit down with my family for dinner. But somehow the sitting, for me, is the hardest part.
This morning, I sat and drew. I started by drawing the plant the sits atop the stand. It’s arms and leaves stretch from one window to the other reaching for the light. My eye is drawn to it multiple times a day. As I was drawing, I felt the words coming. so I wrote
the birds are back,
i sit in my morning spot,
i look out the window and see them fly,
they perch on the pool fence,
welcome back
The next thing I knew I was filling the pages of my journal, reflecting on three moments in three different classrooms. Thirty minutes later, I got up, energized and thankful that I had sat.
Sitting still is difficult, as difficult as writing itself can be. John McPhee wrote, “I get up in the morning, go into the office and tie myself into the chair with the sash of my bathrobe.” I don’t know if that’s true or not, but can you just picture it? By the way, I love the plant, and your photo of your journal. I, too, find writing energizing (but also exhausting sometimes).
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Hooray for joining this writing community! So glad you’re part of my real life community! ❤
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