On a recent road trip, I swapped stories with a dear friend as we wound our way north, out of Rhode Island, to Vermont for a two-day artist's retreat. Invariably, the conversation turned to livelihood, life, and balance, and I was happy to share some details about my creative life (I don't call it work.) My friend is ready to launch the next chapter of her life, and a small group of us are working through Julia Cameron's 12-week Artist's Way program. A key component of the program is a commitment to write Morning Pages. How does one commit to rising early to pen three longhand pages of stream-of consciousness writing? All it takes is practice.
Before I leave home every morning, I sit and meditate for five minutes. Five minutes may not seem like a significant slice of time, but over time, my practice has deepened, and has had a profound effect on my ability to be, peacefully, in the world.
I write everyday. I scribble three pages on a pad. I don't worry about punctuation, spelling, or grammar. This writing is not for anyone else's eyes, but by laying down tracks everyday, I give writing a place of honor in my life. Divinely given, who am I to deny it?
I save a few dollars every week. At the top of my home budget/spreadsheet, I have a line item for savings. Allocating funds is non-negotiable. My bills get paid, and my savings account receives a percentage of my weekly earnings.
Thus, I practice meditating. I practice writing. I practice saving money.
The upshot of showing up for my breath every morning, the benefit of showing up for the muse daily, the financial rewards for setting aside a little, is that by practicing, by becoming a better mediator, I am less judgmental. By practicing writing a weekly blog, I have become a more consistent writer. And by saving money, I am less fearful about my financial future.
Practice doesn't mean perfection, it means being fully present in the world.
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