Chop wood, carry water

“Spend the afternoon. You can’t take it with you.” – attributed to author Annie Dillard on a website that collects quotes related to carpe diem

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The Buddhists have a saying, “chop wood, carry water.” Basically, it describes a way of living in the present, whatever that present is. If you are doing a boring chore – chopping wood – do it mindfully. Focus on the experience and do it well, aware of the sounds of the ax on the log, and the smell of the sap, the movements of your body, the pleasure in seeing the pile of firewood grow.

That’s a good message for anyone engaged in creative work, as is Dillard’s. The best moments for writers, painters, dancers and others engaged in making art are those in which we’re transported beyond ourselves, caught up in the act of creation, lifted momentarily beyond the tasks to a state in which the work itself is not something we’re conscious of, only the experience of making. Lost in creativity.

But most of the time, dancers are aware of aching hips, painters are struggling with getting oils to adhere just so on stretched canvas, and writers are beating their heads against walls searching for the right word to describe something. It’s hard, it’s repetitive, it frustrates us because we want so much to be in that other state – “in the zone.”

But there’s only one way to get to the “zone,” and that’s to chop the wood and carry the water, to stop trying to force the transcendence and to live and work in the current moment. When you’re pushing for it, hoping for some future happiness, grumbling about the present, you’re moving further and further away from the “zone.”

I know – easier to say than to do. But in 2012 I intend to work on spending each writing day in the present and relishing the experience of searching for the right word, making sentences count, and letting the creativity overtake me when it will. I’m sure I’ll need to remind myself of these goals again and again. I know there will be times when I give in to the seductive power of daydreaming about future success rather than face the tough road toward it. I like the concept, though, and think I’ll make a sign to put over my desk so that when my eyes and my mind wander, I’ll get a little shove back to the present and the undeniable fact of Annie Dillard’s quote.

Good luck to each of you in 2012 – may you succeed in your goals and have happy times getting there!

 

Comments

[Camille Minichino]

Thanks, Susan. That's a saying well worth tacking above my computer! In fact, it's not a bad rule of life!

[Staci]

Definitely a worthy goal for 2012, and every year after, too. It's one I should be focusing on as I work through this latest scene!

[Susan C Shea]

Staci, me too! I'm halfway through a long climax scene to the book, and I alternately get deeply into it and then a ping says a text message from my family is waiting and I leap toward the phone! Arggh...

[Terry Shames]

Thanks for the reminder. Hope I can carry it out while I'm in recovery. Believe it or not, there are "good" moments to focus on.

[Susan C Shea]

Recovering from knee surgery may be an especially good situation in which to live the Buddhist way! Remember how, in yoga, you breathe into any area of pain or muscle stress? Breathing is chopping wood, really. Good luck!

[Michael A. Black]

Good post, Susan. Sometimes when I'm writing I feel like I'm chopping wood so I'll keep your words of wisdom in my mind as I search for that elusive zone.

[Ann Parker]

Great quote and post, Susan. I've been avoiding the woodpile for a while now... Guess I should take heart, sharpen the axe, and get busy!

[Mysti Berry]

I never know I'm in the zone, until the next day, when I reread yesterday's work and think "Hey, I don't remember writing that. It's not so bad!"

Ignoring all the nagging questions about voice & zones and chopping water and carrying wood--wait, strike that, reverse it!

Thanks for today's inspiration!