A dog's breakfast of Zen

Since the beginning of the month, my random pirouettes around the interwebby thingy have seemed to me to point to a theme. Maybe it's a cyber-cosmic message, maybe it's merely what passes for continuity in an ADD doggy's mind. But I kept thinking 'Ah, mindfulness' as I played whack-a-mole with the mouse.

Our own Aggie led off with not one but two exposés of her meditation experiences. Zen mindfulness up the yin-yang, there. Then, this weekend, I chanced on a fresh posting by Evey, who at a Ladyfest workshop this past weekend heard -- and more importantly, took to heart -- the good advice of a couple of ESI favorites, Jen Whiteford and Megan Butcher: "Give value to what you write: blogs, zines, anything."

Aha! That mindfulness thing again. Because ya can spew any old thing down -- dog knows enough people do -- but it usually ain't very elegant unless the writer has valued the exercise enough to put thought and practice into it.

Now, 'giving value' can, and should, mean a bunch of different things vis-a-vis the craft of writing, but it boils down to the simple fact that one has to pay attention to what one is doing on several levels. The usual basic grammar and spelling, of course, but also the theme that one is trying to impart, the structure of the prose, the flow of the words, their sound in the mind, and so on. They're all tools of writing, and like Aggie's mindful breathing, they tend to work better the less you actually have to consciously think about 'em. Think too hard about the tools, and the craft or (sullen) art suffers. Yet, starting out, you have think about 'em and sweat about 'em, until they become a part of one's instinctive vocabulary.

Mindfulness, I think (har!) is more about paying attention, allowing the rather valuable mental and emotional processes that one usually drowns out with one's own self-generated day-to-day static to rise in one's consciousness. No matter if you call it mindfulness, finding a groove, or being productive, it's kind of a cool place to be, whether you're learning to breathe or learning to write. Of course, most writers keep learning to write for their entire lives. And most people kinda ignore breathing their entire lives, except when they're forced to stop for some reason...

Anyway, the fact that Evey cares about taking care is a fine beginning. That, and the fact that she's also pretty good already. It'll be interesting to see where she goes with it.

Disclosure and disclaimer: I'm a smartass dog, for pete's sake. I know nothing about Zen. Apparently in some circles this makes me a master...

Photo: Cockeyed.com