Writing as Practice

This is not the first time that I realize that I had abandoned the habit of writing everyday for a long while. Being an optimist, however, I always look at the brighter side of things: at least I've not completely given up writing in my heart, just like my everyday sitting practice -- I might not have time to meditate everyday, but the yearning to sit everyday is always there with me, in my heart, and I know without any doubt that I will come out in a much calmer mental state after some meditation. Every time.

So it's not a big leap of faith to see the benefits of daily writing -- I know it's there, I just need to pay attention to my resistance when I sit down to write something. In that sense my writing is really just another aspect of my practice, and the mantra of daily sitting practice -- Just practice, and don't be outrageous -- will serve equally well for writing.

The essence of practice, be it meditation or writing, is to let go oneself, to surrender to the present moment. That style of writing almost happens by itself, you just type out whatever comes to your mind, simple as that. Unlike the case of business writing or technical writing where you write for some intended audience, it feels like you are simply talking to the outside world, or your soul, your consciousness, is talking to you. It's revelation in some sense.

For some practical purpose, particularly in this current fast-paced world, we need a lot slowing down to get some sanity back in our lives, the necessity of having some sitting and writing practice is more than obvious. As a matter of fact I realized this years back and blogged that we need to slow down to speed up, disconnect to reconnect. It's just that it is so easy to get lost in the business of daily life and forget all the lessons we have learned. The need for some constant reminders to prevent us of falling off the track is at all time high, and we desperately need some daily practice to remind us to calm down our monkey mind and be mindful of the empty and beautiful nature of everything, to bring us back from the whirlpool of our mundane life and keep us light-hearted and grateful.