Note: I didn’t mean to take a break in January but the new year tugged me into a melancholy funk that made it hard to work on anything beyond The Project. Thank you for your patience and for not abandoning me in the unplanned weeks of writerly darkness.
I know that feeling of needing to hoard ideas, but I often think of this Annie Dillard quote. Trying to trust that more will be given, even when it seems the well is dry:
“One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.”
I wrote my master's thesis about this! 8 years ago now. And I still am very far from knowing the answer - except, as you say, I think our bodies know the way better than our minds.
I know that feeling of needing to hoard ideas, but I often think of this Annie Dillard quote. Trying to trust that more will be given, even when it seems the well is dry:
“One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.”
Still drinking out my Nalgene over here ;)
"A luxury" and "a travesty"... that about sums it up for me! I resonated with this piece so much!
Also one more thing: the whole point of a Stanley cup is literally that it lasts forever. As in you only need one.
Sarah, this is one of my favourite pieces of yours. It reflects so many of my own thoughts back to me; I feel less alone. X
I wrote my master's thesis about this! 8 years ago now. And I still am very far from knowing the answer - except, as you say, I think our bodies know the way better than our minds.
So excited to see you IRL soon!
I absolutely ADORED this piece. Excellent writing, poignant topic. Thank you friend.