The Sage
I decided to do one of my Buddhist Writer posts today. I love this quote:
Irrigators guide water;
Fletchers shape arrows;
Carpenters fashion wood;
Sages tame themselves.
~Dhammapada 80
I suppose I could add . . . writers write. It's what I do. Without a lot of fuss. It's just what I do.
The other part of this, though . . . is that line. Sages tame themselves.
I spend a good part of my life taming my temper. Trying to speak less, not more. Taming my impatience. It goes back to school, really, and feeling frustrated by having to wait for everyone else to understand the concepts I already grasped. Even skipping a grade didn't help. I was impatient then. I remain impatient now. The difference, of course, is I was an impatient third-grader with zero compassion for people who struggled in school, and now I am a much older and somewhat wiser person who realizes we're all just making our way through life at our own speed.
But applied to writing? It means rooting out the weakest aspects of my work and trying to tame them. For me, it's a tendency to rush through, not enough description. I have to dig deeper in each scene. But then . . . I still like to write very spare. So it's the Middle Path I seek. In life as well as in writing.
As a sage, I try to tame my desk. Tame my procrastination. Tame the clutter. Some days, put it this way, I am the wise sage. Some days? Not so much.
Stephen Parrish had a blog post recently on ruthless cutting and critiquing. The sage doesn't seek empty praise. Not that praise alone is a bad thing--there's more on THAT tomorrow as I continue this theme.
Thoughts? What aspects of life . . . and work . . . are you trying to tame?
Irrigators guide water;
Fletchers shape arrows;
Carpenters fashion wood;
Sages tame themselves.
~Dhammapada 80
I suppose I could add . . . writers write. It's what I do. Without a lot of fuss. It's just what I do.
The other part of this, though . . . is that line. Sages tame themselves.
I spend a good part of my life taming my temper. Trying to speak less, not more. Taming my impatience. It goes back to school, really, and feeling frustrated by having to wait for everyone else to understand the concepts I already grasped. Even skipping a grade didn't help. I was impatient then. I remain impatient now. The difference, of course, is I was an impatient third-grader with zero compassion for people who struggled in school, and now I am a much older and somewhat wiser person who realizes we're all just making our way through life at our own speed.
But applied to writing? It means rooting out the weakest aspects of my work and trying to tame them. For me, it's a tendency to rush through, not enough description. I have to dig deeper in each scene. But then . . . I still like to write very spare. So it's the Middle Path I seek. In life as well as in writing.
As a sage, I try to tame my desk. Tame my procrastination. Tame the clutter. Some days, put it this way, I am the wise sage. Some days? Not so much.
Stephen Parrish had a blog post recently on ruthless cutting and critiquing. The sage doesn't seek empty praise. Not that praise alone is a bad thing--there's more on THAT tomorrow as I continue this theme.
Thoughts? What aspects of life . . . and work . . . are you trying to tame?
Labels: Buddhism and writing
posted by Erica Orloff at 6:44 AM
28 Comments:
Patience, I suppose, at least when it comes to certain areas of my writing life. Otherwise I'm very patient. Moodiness/broodiness, definitely.
Hi Mark:
I think I have two moods. HAPPY and loving life. And hormonally deranged.
Very little in between.
Woe to the men living in this house. Three women.
E
My hair? No, wait, that was yesterdays theme.
In life, definitely my temper. I have this strange tolerance for scenes and big things, but little things can set me off in a second. The next biggie would be to tame the self critical voice in my head that picks on me in an unhealthy and unproductive way.
In writing, still battling the tendency to cram in minute detail that flies from my fingers without my brains permission and makes the pace of the book like watching grass grow...hmm, guess I should put some thought into taming cliches, too. =)
I try to tame the doubt monster every day.
Hi Lainey:
I think many of us fight the self-critical, self-doubting monster.
E
Hi Heather:
But you haven't deleted your blog!!!!
E
:-)
I've been trying to tame my tendency toward being argumentative, and don't try to say I haven't!
I struggle to hold myself still ... if that makes any sense. Both as a writer and a person.
JVZ
Jude:
I've actually noticed. I can almost "see" you biting your tongue.
:-)
E
JVZ:
Stillness is something I work on too.
E
I had to tame the abuse of certain substances (which is why I'm commenting anonymously, although you'll know me by my signature).
As for writing, the Doubt Monster is breathing down my neck too. More and more I question the judgement of editors: "You bought his crap, could mine possibly be worse? If so, shoot me!"
Cowboy
A Deadhead with a temper? My you are a bundle of contradictions!
Who me? Temper? Impatient with idiots? I mean, people who don't grasp things quickly. You haven't noticed any of these tendencies with me have you?
I abhor details...it takes a lot of discipline and effort for me pay attention to details.
Getting the words on the paper in the first place is easy...it's the cutting, like Stephen mentioned, that is a tedious, necessary detail.
Anonymous . . .
As a Buddhist writer . . . I always say, best to have blinders on. Not look left or right over what's bought . . . just focus on perfecting the work.
jlk:
Yes. An Earth Mother with impatience.
My brain just shouts "hurry up and get to the point." As a mom of four, I always feel there's SO much to do . . . and not enough time. It's something I really work to curb all the time. Hence the unceasing prayers for patience.
E
Erica, I get easily distracted with multi-tasking. My challenge in life, and it's a biggie. I love to write, but then there's promo, a necessary evil, new projects I'm anxious to begin. I just wanna sit under a tree and write...what's wrong with that? LOL. I think that's why I drool over Dean Koontz's lifestyle. His wife makes everything else go away, and he...writes.
ladonna:
I need a wife like that.
E
Patience with my children.
DH travels a lot and works odd hours all the time. We have no schedule in our lives. So my patience in general tends to be on edge. I want to save whatever I have for my children.
I'm trying to tame myself to stay in the moment, to appreciate the step by step journey, and to not jump so far ahead of myself.
Though I've been taming my hair for years!
Hi Christine:
I totally relate. I have four kids of disparate ages (18 down to the Demon Baby) and wildly varying interests (violin/music, math, art . . . and Mayhem). Two are night owls. The Demon rises the minute a ray of light comes across the sky. It's utterly exhausting sometimes . . . and I know I could be more patient. Working on it.
E
alyson:
Mindfulness . . . I try to remember to be mindful in all areas of my life. Some days I am more successful than others.
E
I'm just trying to tame the desire to give up. I love to write, but I do not love what comes out on the page.
On a good day it is simply disheartening.
The last few weeks have had no good days.
Now, where did I leave that whip.... off to tame the beast :(
Ewoh:
Sometimes, we all just get in that space. We need to learn to be gentler with our muse.
E
Right now teaching is kicking my butt and I'm not too happy about it. It takes me away from writing which I bitterly resent and it takes me away from family time when I work on writing during family time. Argh. not good right now. Can't wait for the break.
Hi Ello:
Hope you get a break soon!!
E
Fear and clutter.
"Hormonally deranged."
Ohmigosh, Erica. That is ME, I swear to God. I can tell the time of the month by how crazy I am.
I agree with what everyone else wrote (except the substance abuse), depending on the time of day. Even Lainey's hair problem. On the good side, this all helps me identify with my characters. :)
I used to write too spare. I add more now, and I always hear a former CP's voice in my ear as I write saying, "How does she feel?"
Spy:
Fear and clutter are my two greatest enemies.
edie:
As you always say . . . raise the stakes.
E
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