Tuesday, December 8, 2015

More Editing

I just spent the last hour or so retyping sermons I had written, typed on a typewriter, and delivered at Cong. Sha'ar Zahav in the 1980's. Quite a blast from the past.

But the sky is gray and so is my mood. My solar-powered emotions need more sunlight than I have been getting the past few days. And rain is in the weather forecast.

Must be time for some pick-me-ups: a good movie? dealing with paperwork? doing my stretches and/or some Tai Chi? sugar and caffeine?

I've a massage scheduled for tomorrow to look forward to. And maybe a community Chanukah candle-lighting and sufganyot (jelly donut) eating ceremony that evening in the Castro, weather permitting.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Again, Still, Less Writing and More Editing

I've pulled together a group of my blog pieces that focus on spirituality, and contracted with Xlibris to self-publish them as a small book, paperback and online. That decision frightened me so much that I promptly put the materials away for about a month. I've been dipping back into them in small chunks, every couple of days. I tinker with them until indecisiveness or feelings of unworthiness require me to step away and regain perspective.

But little bits of progress are being made. The pieces are starting to fall into groups and to suggest their proper order, and I'm even writing a few new words to fill gaps. Fortunately, there's no particular deadline, but that means that mine is the responsibility both to keep working on it and to decide when it's done.

There has been a hiatus in the sessions where I sit with friends and write to prompts, but they will soon return. I hope that such new writing sessions will replenish my creative juices and support my editing.

Now is the darkest and coldest (relatively speaking, in temperate San Fran) time of the year. I'm torn between huddling under a warm comforter and getting out into the brisk sun to recharge my energy and emotions. Striking a healthy balance between these occupations is a major goal this season.

May all beings find a happy balance between doing and being, warmth and cold, peace and hope.