Friday, June 10, 2011

The Rules of Water


Every morning, the writing Muse gives me a glass of water.

 But it's so much more than water.
It's my daily allotment of creativity, discipline, and focus.

Every molecule is teaming with a kaleidoscope of ideas.

Anything can steal a sip--bad news, good news, noise from a chain saw...even a ringing phone.
These things are out of a writer's control.
Still, I must guard this water.




Bit by bit, the water level drops.
Sometimes the world around me takes a big gulp.
Sometimes I pour this gift onto the ground.
Sometimes I hoard that last drop.


The next morning, the Muse leaves me a new glass.
And she tells me that her daily offering shouldn't be rationed or coddled.
The lesson is inside the glass.
A writer has to be like water.


“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
--Bruce Lee (http://www.thinkexist.com/)