When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everyone will respect you.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

I said previously that I liked the Tao te Ching.
I was just thinking the other day that writers walk the fine line of being in a highly competitive market and being part of a very supportive community. The way out is to not compete with others but be the best you that you can be. Your uniqueness, professionalism, and attitude will become your selling points and also reasons for respect. Ideally.

A Day for Little People

English: The Red-eyed Tree Frog (Litoria chloris) found in eastern Australia. Français : Litoria chloris, une grenouille arboricole de l'est australien. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I think tomorrow will be a day for small people. This morning my retriever was staring at the squirrel tree and I rescued a tiny frog from a horse water bucket. I'm a small person in the big scheme of things so maybe this will be a day for me too. But compared to the frog, we are big persons, so maybe you and I will have to make our own way in a day of little people. Be on the look-out for them and let me know what you see!

elemental flight

from Karina Meneghini on Pintrest

This is in response to a poem by MesAyah on WordPress

elemental flight

having gone too far, the wings

pierce sunshine, disappearing into

a dandelion that rests in the still pool

which curves across the sky as it waits

to rejoin the sea; and pinioned shepherds

of fleecy clouds shade their eyes, placing

friendly bets on when that foolish bird

will wilt but, still, not a one sees me

tumble out the other side and into

shimmering celestials where

the touch of fresh freedom tastes

like tangy pineapple juice on my skin,

and feathers sing as i zip past that zodiac,

i skip through chaotic simplicity like a stone,

the orbiting constellations embed themselves

in shining, streaming strands of braided hair,

colorful comets dance at my feet and i wrap

myself in Cosmos and utterly dissolve,

becoming one with unbounded Life

again.

The Kissing Mants Philosophy

The Whirlpool Galaxy (Spiral Galaxy M51, NGC 5194) is a classic spiral galaxy located in the Canes Venatici constellation. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I looked at space pictures the other day and saw a picture of a galaxy. I've seen similar pictures many times but yesterday I researched the praying mantis for my book and the two images came together.

 Part of the magic of writing is when two unalike 'stuffs' come together in a new way. This is part of the art in what sometimes seems (in dark moments) nothing more than a formula. But the same can be said for galaxies, right? 

Kissing Mantis

The kissing mantis waits in spreading dark

To take my hand and provide wings of a dream

So I might never turn and see in her mark

My darkened shadow self’s fading gleam

And as I sweep the seas in a stellar monsoon

I spy a long-tressed lady in the starry brine

Smooth strokes of light shape a lonely moon

Who casts her child among the stars to pine

And the watery land below us torridly turns,

Waking and dreaming, caught in shadowed force

The veins of a turning galaxy that glisten

And the curved arms of the mantis keep the

course

Biting the bullet

Culled paper (Photo credit: Dvortygirl)

After two days of hemming and hawing I decided to rewrite this chapter from scratch, too. Technically, it isn't from scratch. When I rewrite a chapter in this draft, I reuse the summary and incorporate new notes then fill in the gaps. But most the words I keep are new. (can't keep the summary) My writing friend who I met with today agrees that the two chapters I have rewritten this way read much better. I just might do all my chapters like this. It might be faster and produce a better product. Just wish I had thought of this strategy earlier. Guess I'm still learning. Someday this will be my first draft instead of my second.

Do you find your job is still a learning experience?

The Tao of Writing

According to legends, Laozi leaves China on his water buffalo. Renard, (2002), p. 16 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A personal confession. I love the Tao te Ching, by Lao Tzu. It isn't just about the abstract 'life', it is about life. As in learning, walking, martial arts, music, and writing. Yes, writing. Here are four examples of what I am talking about, pulled nearly at random.

1. “Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear?”
   One interpretation: Do you have the patience to wait to write until the clutter of your thoughts settle and your mind is clear?
   Another interpretation: Do you have the patience to not write a project until the ideas settle and the story and characters are clear?
2. “The wise man is one who, knows, what he does not know.”
   One interpretation: Your knowledge of personal and technical strengths and weaknesses comes partly from yourself but also partly from the feedback from others. Even then, it is incomplete.
   Another interpretation: apply this to research
3. “He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty"
   One interpretation: A good writer tries to write better than other writers, a great writer tries to write better than herself.
   Another interpretation:
4. “When people see some things as beautiful,
   other things become ugly.
   When people see some things as good,
   other things become bad.”
   One interpretation: Writers create protagonists and antagonists. The writer guides the reader in the perceptions of good and bad in people.
   Another interpretation: Writers write about values – what is beautiful, what is ugly. Some writers like to make the to make the boundary clear, others choose to blur the line. We have a responsibility to think about the messages we send because we send these messages to readers.