The Zen of Writing.

 The rule, in the Zen of writing, is that there are no rules. It's a practice of writing where the ego is left behind.The goals and ambitions of this world left behind. It's not about beating the ego into submission, just gently or firmly placing it aside and letting thoughts roam freely across the page. I guess it's about trusting what comes up - trusting the process. Flowing with the river of life instead of against it. And it's about being present right now. So when the words stop flowing, return to what's in your awareness in this moment.

  For me it's the washing machine in it's last stage of the spin cycle. It's a large industrial machine, the kind you need when there are four teenagers and two adults in the house...plus me, the teenager in an adult body. You'd expect with so many teens running around that they'd be at least a bit of madness and mayhem, but it's nearly always so quiet here. Just the hum of machines and the occasional  rattle of dishes being washed. Even the neighbours cat has worked out that this is by far the cruisiest house the street. Every night in winter it finds a spot to bathe in the warmth of the fire, and sleep uninterrupted til morning.

I can hear birds fighting outside, and the sound is louder than anything going on inside. It'd be great if it was a Zen monastery but it's a family home and sometimes it feels a bit strange. I feel bad writing about my sisters home and kids. But I'm not here to judge, but to understand. My son has the opposite problem, never shutting up when he should. I feel bad that I didn't get to know her kids better when they were younger. They are stuck in their silent world, and I can't get in. My parents were always arguing. There was always noise, lots of it. when I was a teenager, we moved to a small farm in the country. I could still hear their yelling way down the far end of the paddock, as far as I could get away from the house without leaving the property. Now I love silence...(but I also love music). Most of all I love the stillness that I find in nature. It's a stillness that I feel, even when waves are crashing, or birds are singing. I've finally absolutely totally fallen in love, with that stillness.