First paragraph made me think about something you mentioned on the Wordslinger podcast recently: wu wei, effortless effort, and the related Taoist concept of the uncarved block. I learned about the latter in the great little book, "The Tao of Pooh." It happens that the Chinese word translated "uncarved block" is pǔ (樸).
When I was growing up, I came across a quote, something like, "Few burdens are heavier than that of a great potential." I've never been able to find the origin of that, and I have felt that most of my life. (I was selected by my classmates as "Most Likely to Succeed." But they didn't tell me at what.) I love the reframing of what blank pages are for. Here's hoping for wu wei as we fill those pages. Thank you!
Interesting your approach to write. If you have to write, you need blank pages be them in paper or in your computers.
In my current age, I lived multiple "blank pages" along my education years and my working years.
Obviously, I had to write on them from the syllabus in primary/high school/University. This was the paper age
My first contact with a a computer occurred in 1984 when they needed diskettes (floppies). Then, the changes precipitated, and now we have cellular that have more applications than the computers that had to lay in enormous places at very low temperatures.
The blank pages have to be written, especially with writers like you, Kevin.
I sometimes hang on to gift cards for a long while, because when you still have that gift card, the potential is boundless (limited only by the amount of $$ in it) I could opt for this or that, or some other thing. Once it has been used however, all that potential is gone.
Similar to a blank page I imagine.
Back in my twenties, I used to joke with a friend that I was the girl "lost in the infinite space of a grain of sand." I have yet to write a story about that, I bet it would make a good one.
I love potential and possibilities. Deciding is both the birth of something, and paradoxically the death of a million (okay, maybe just a dozen) other things.
I do the same thing, Jeanne! In fact, I can think of a couple of cards that stayed in my wallet until they expired, having never fulfilled. And I didn't feel like they were wasted. The pleasure of potential they brought me made them worthwhile. At times, under stress, I would take one out, hold it, and think, "At least I could go to that arts supply store and get something that would take my mind off my troubles." That was enough to help the stress, and I put the card back to have available next time. Eventually I threw it away after it expired, without regret, because it had delivered value far beyond its face value.
On the other side of it: when you write on a page, it "spends" the potential of that page, but it opens up potential for so many other pages! I interviewed a well-known author yesterday who commented that she had other threads that she now wishes she had worked into her latest book. I said, "Those threads may or may not support a whole new book, but you could at least get a short story out of them, and I'll bet readers would be interested in seeing how they develop." She lit up. "I had not thought about that! Thank you!" Selfishly, I'm looking forward to how she develops those. And I'll bet that each thread developed will lead to more possibilities, i.e., more potentials. One of the wonderful things about being a writer. With just a slight turn of your phrase, deciding is the birth of something and the seed of a million (okay, maybe just a dozen) other things. Robert Schuller once said, "Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed." May you enjoy your seeds!
We are different in that I would use the card before it expired. I would feel guilty over the person who paid money for it. Thankfully, here in Canada, you can’t put an expiry date on a gift card anymore. I’d have to wait until the store went out of business to lose out!
Oooooo, I like that! Preserving the potential forever. Cool! Come to think of it, it has been a long time since a gift card I've had expired, so maybe we have the same thing. If not, yet another area in which Canada has been more enlightened. [sigh]
I'm a doer and a planner and I have been successful because I do and plan. I don't overthink things which I read from you is something you are apt at, its called contemplating. Comtemplating, is wonderful for very short periods of time, doing is more lucrative and pays the bills. Just my opinion.
First paragraph made me think about something you mentioned on the Wordslinger podcast recently: wu wei, effortless effort, and the related Taoist concept of the uncarved block. I learned about the latter in the great little book, "The Tao of Pooh." It happens that the Chinese word translated "uncarved block" is pǔ (樸).
When I was growing up, I came across a quote, something like, "Few burdens are heavier than that of a great potential." I've never been able to find the origin of that, and I have felt that most of my life. (I was selected by my classmates as "Most Likely to Succeed." But they didn't tell me at what.) I love the reframing of what blank pages are for. Here's hoping for wu wei as we fill those pages. Thank you!
Wishing your potentials and opportunities hatch soon!
I appreciate that!
Interesting your approach to write. If you have to write, you need blank pages be them in paper or in your computers.
In my current age, I lived multiple "blank pages" along my education years and my working years.
Obviously, I had to write on them from the syllabus in primary/high school/University. This was the paper age
My first contact with a a computer occurred in 1984 when they needed diskettes (floppies). Then, the changes precipitated, and now we have cellular that have more applications than the computers that had to lay in enormous places at very low temperatures.
The blank pages have to be written, especially with writers like you, Kevin.
I sometimes hang on to gift cards for a long while, because when you still have that gift card, the potential is boundless (limited only by the amount of $$ in it) I could opt for this or that, or some other thing. Once it has been used however, all that potential is gone.
Similar to a blank page I imagine.
Back in my twenties, I used to joke with a friend that I was the girl "lost in the infinite space of a grain of sand." I have yet to write a story about that, I bet it would make a good one.
I love potential and possibilities. Deciding is both the birth of something, and paradoxically the death of a million (okay, maybe just a dozen) other things.
I do the same thing, Jeanne! In fact, I can think of a couple of cards that stayed in my wallet until they expired, having never fulfilled. And I didn't feel like they were wasted. The pleasure of potential they brought me made them worthwhile. At times, under stress, I would take one out, hold it, and think, "At least I could go to that arts supply store and get something that would take my mind off my troubles." That was enough to help the stress, and I put the card back to have available next time. Eventually I threw it away after it expired, without regret, because it had delivered value far beyond its face value.
On the other side of it: when you write on a page, it "spends" the potential of that page, but it opens up potential for so many other pages! I interviewed a well-known author yesterday who commented that she had other threads that she now wishes she had worked into her latest book. I said, "Those threads may or may not support a whole new book, but you could at least get a short story out of them, and I'll bet readers would be interested in seeing how they develop." She lit up. "I had not thought about that! Thank you!" Selfishly, I'm looking forward to how she develops those. And I'll bet that each thread developed will lead to more possibilities, i.e., more potentials. One of the wonderful things about being a writer. With just a slight turn of your phrase, deciding is the birth of something and the seed of a million (okay, maybe just a dozen) other things. Robert Schuller once said, "Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed." May you enjoy your seeds!
We are different in that I would use the card before it expired. I would feel guilty over the person who paid money for it. Thankfully, here in Canada, you can’t put an expiry date on a gift card anymore. I’d have to wait until the store went out of business to lose out!
Oooooo, I like that! Preserving the potential forever. Cool! Come to think of it, it has been a long time since a gift card I've had expired, so maybe we have the same thing. If not, yet another area in which Canada has been more enlightened. [sigh]
I'm a doer and a planner and I have been successful because I do and plan. I don't overthink things which I read from you is something you are apt at, its called contemplating. Comtemplating, is wonderful for very short periods of time, doing is more lucrative and pays the bills. Just my opinion.
Thank you, Kevin.