Comments on: On Focus, and the Influence of Saturn

By: Zoë

Zoë — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:49:08 +0000

I know what you mean about habits. The thing that’s been most wonderful and powerful for me in the past month was developing a stronger ‘morning practice’ — habits that have turned my morning into a solid, fulfilling foundation for the rest of the day. Other things seem to flow out of that…

I share your mixed feelings about tidiness, bringing it all together — on one hand, I love the feeling. But on the other hand, many of the best experiences I’ve had, best work I’ve done, sprang from unpredictable paths that I took, accepting the unknown and welcoming tangents…

By: Matt Blair

Matt Blair — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:30:01 +0000

Mmm, several things I could latch onto here. I’ve also been thinking about focus, and thinking of habits to form in the new year rather than resolutions. (I have a post about that written in a notebook somewhere, if only had the focus to type it up and edit it!)

Last year felt as though I was living on the periphery of a number of distant earthquakes, as well as a few local but minor ones. At year’s end, looking at my slightly scattered everything, I found myself questioning the instinct towards tidiness, and thinking — knowing, really — that maybe I don’t want to put it all back where it was.

“Why was it there in the first place? Was that deliberate? Do I still want it that way? Or could it be some other way?”

But being deliberate requires deliberation, and that can become a vortex of ponderousness.

And maybe the way out of that is the kind of archetypal frame you described at the top. It’s like when you’ve been treading water and start to tire, and you take the chance to put your feet down, and there’s something solid underneath. And you realize it’s been there all along, unnoticed beneath your motion and the waves.

At least that’s how I’m trying to imagine it. My toes have grazed such a thing, but I’m still sloshing around a bit.

Thank you for giving me more to think about, Zoë!

By: Zoë

Zoë — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:48:53 +0000

Good to see you here, Paul. I love that you’re connecting this post and the last one… I hadn’t consciously made that connection, and now you’ve given *me* food for thought…

By: Zoë

Zoë — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:47:48 +0000

Hi Seth — Being excited about your work is a blessing. It’s this type of excitement that’s allowed me to work almost non-stop for the past few months on a project that I love. But then I always crave balance, and I hate when that level of devotion compromises the other areas of my life that I need to keep me grounded. Journaling really does help

By: Zoë

Zoë — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:45:08 +0000

Alex, I’m with you on that — I’ve fallen out of my writing and reading routines, so the writing and reading I actually do feels scattered. Let me know how you do as you push past the noise… !

By: Zoë

Zoë — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:42:29 +0000

Hi Wendy! I completely agree… it can be so difficult to get past the noise of “shoulds.” I think what we really want to do can be so tangled up with others’ expectations, self-doubt, etc. — and for me, it often takes a lot of quiet writing time to untangle it all. Look forward to connecting more with you in the new year!

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:20:16 +0000

Zoe a great post again. I am still there on your previous post.Can we call it a photo essay? I do not know.Enchanted forest, on closer look, a rubber plantation.I have been brooding on it.Is it wisdom(not my favorite word) to see through the sham of the enchanted forest? Do I read it in your latest post: ….to give up vain fantasies that even if fulfilled wouldn’t make you happy.Thanks, found it food for thought.

By: Seth @ Happenchance

Seth @ Happenchance — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:55:44 +0000

I’m finding myself busier than ever: trying to plan my next year, cobble together some kind of freelance income, and keep up with all the projects I’ve started. It’s all very exciting, and that’s helped me stay focused. If my work wasn’t exciting, I’m sure I’d start drifting into laziness and half-hearted pursuits.

Like you, I’ve done some end of the year extreme journaling. This has really given me a feeling of winding things down and bringing ’09 to a close.

Thanks for all the wonderful words…here’s to an outstanding ’10.

By: Alex Charchar

Alex Charchar — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 23:27:25 +0000

My issue at the moment is a lack of motivation and a falling-out I’ve had with a routine I use to very much enjoy (reading online and off, as well a leaving comments on blogs and interacting). I spend a lot of time thinking how to go about writing and learning, but hardly implement my new ideas before coming up with another one..

It’s not quite a case of not wanting to do those things that are important to me, it’s more a case of being very, very easily distracted by the most trivial of things. There’s just too much noise.

And to echo Wendy, I look forward to the next year on Essential Prose!

By: Wendy Edsall-Kerwin

Wendy Edsall-Kerwin — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 21:12:08 +0000

Lately I’ve felt like I’ve been working hard at getting nothing done. The past two weeks, though, I’ve been able to focus more and spend more time getting the important (to me!) things done. Including this post, I’ve run into a lot of writing about finding more focus and paying more attention to what needs to get done, rather than what should get done. This is probably what I need to work on in 2010, paying attention to what matters most and doing that.
Thank you, Zoe for all your great, thoughtful posts! I look forward to more in the New Year.