So, my September task list (just a bit less demanding than my yearly resolutions) includes writing every day with my mental note of writing as close to as soon as I get up in the morning as I can.  This morning I woke up at 5:50 and it is now 8:13.  I forgive the first hour plus for getting Julia off to school, but then after that I had to walk the dog, water the back garden, check and write emails, clean up a few dishes, and dither a bit before I am willing to get down to the write.

So, one thing I notice about meditation and about writing is that it is necessary to form the habit by doing it over and over  but repetition doesn’t necessarily make it easier.  There are days when I sit on my cushion and feel like I’ve never meditated in my life and too many days when my writing is so awkward that I wonder if English is my second language.  The thought that saves me these days and has for the past few months is that “practice” is the coming back to the breath, the center.  The act of coming back over and over, even every few seconds is the practice.

And so, once again, I return to filling a quota of words for the day.  Gosh, now I feel like Natalie Goldberg.  Practice = writing?  I am not sure.  But here is a day one.