It was a quiet afternoon and I had some time to do whatever I pleased. That’s a real treat and one I’m always quick to take advantage of. Yet I didn’t feel like reading, in fact, I felt like writing but had no blog ideas percolating around the brain. And over the past week or two I had read other peoples’ blogs and what they were up to. One blogger described his writing style and habits and was so prolific in his writing that I had felt downright lazy! But today I was feeling productive and I decided this was a perfect opportunity to put that feeling to good use. Except what was I going to write?
I left the dock and walked to the house to get the laptop pondering about the topic all the way. Having gathered up the necessary tools, can’t leave those glasses behind, I said to my husband, “I hope between here and my seat on the dock something will come to me.” He wished me luck as he headed off for a nap. No help from him!
And the question that came as I reached the dock was – why do we feel that we have to know what’s coming next? Can’t it be ok to get up in the morning, or from my dock chair, and say, “let’s just see what unfolds today?” I know planning is good, I’m a planner, and I like to know what’s happening when. So maybe I’m just speaking to the planners today but how about a day where you follow whatever urges come up and do just that until you decide its time to do something else.
Wait, those of you who lead a less planned life - do you ever get the feeling of doing something out of the norm for you? And then do you follow it or let it linger and fade away? I think that the quiet, sometimes shy, urges that nudge you are your creative juices flowing and seeking expression. In the planned life it is easy to ignore those thoughts of what you’d really love to be doing in this moment. In the less planned world it may be ignored as just another muse.
I understand fully the need for discipline and settling down to do what needs to be done. What I’d like to suggest today is that when you have an urge to step outside of your norm, do that! Sitting on the dock was not normal for me and with the desire to write feeling so strong I decided to follow through with it. When you hear the quiet call from deep within, listen, and act on it. Or pick a day each month as an unplanned day. Start by listening, continue by following, and see where the day takes you instead of planning it all out. The worst that can happen is some planned thing doesn't get done; the best is that you are pleasantly surprised by what comes!
Sitting on the dock in the bay – can’t you just hear the music? – that quiet afternoon finished with a really great feeling for me. I felt that I had been productive yet I had done something that I really enjoy doing but had fallen off the wagon of doing regularly. I wrote a blog post.
Where will your quiet nudge take you?