#52 – The writer and the mind

Sitting at the desk my mother bought for me at the thrift shop, I noticed how my mind moved faster than my pen.

As a result, my writing was shallow and had holes in it. Angry, I dropped the pen.

I rested my gaze on the dark veneer and caressed the rough raised grains. The tabletop sounded hollow.

The thought, "the mind needs patience so that the hand can catch up" came to me. 

Like my third-grade teacher with her elaborate hairdo and tweed skirt, pacing up and down the classroom during dictation exercises, my mind needed to wait until my hand had written everything before moving to the next idea.

By waiting, I discovered that ideas could grow legs. I could unpack, unfold, deepen, extend them. Three paragraphs could turn into three pages if I was able to patiently transcribe everything inside my mind.

It was just a school paper, but, to me, that's the day I learned to write.

I learned to pay attention to my mind and be patient enough to unearth everything within it.

Would you call that awareness?

Love,

Carolina