You Have to Make Great Effort
“Don’t just put in your time. That is not enough.”
When the shine wears off the habits we’re trying to form, when we begin to merely show up rather than put in the hard work of consistent, effortful focus, we lose hold of the very skill we’re trying to develop. Trusting the process implies patience and that you’re aware you’re taking a long-view approach. But it also implies that you take very seriously the small micro-task in front of you.
Do each step of the journey with your whole attention. While sometimes it is enough to just to “show up,” it’s a good reminder that on the path of personal transformation, you have to work at it.
Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg was first published in 1986, and has stood the test of time. It remains one of my favorites on writing and life.
She had already been challenging and cheering on writers with courses and workshops when she emerged on the scene with this debut book. Writing practice, as she calls it, is no different from other forms of Zen practice:
“It is backed by two thousand years of studying the mind.”
The book helps you consider your own life and the intimate details of the world around you as vital points of key interest. Letting go of the ego —…
