Do stuff. Be clenched, curious. Not waiting for inspiration's shove or society's kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. It's all about paying attention. Attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. Stay eager. ~Susan Sontag
I should know better than to title a post with the day of the week...then everytime I look at my blog, I'm reminded how long it's been since I've written anything.
But I also remind myself that writing is not an obligation to be dreaded like grocery shopping, or paying bills, or weeding the garden. It's the way I honor my observations about life in general (and my own in particular), the way I make sense of a sometimes senseless world, the way I connect with friends all over cyberspace.
It's the way I pay attention.
But I've been a bit attention deficit lately, not paying attention to the bracing aroma of my morning coffee, or the symphony of birdcalls that greet me on the back porch each morning as I take the first sip. Not paying attention to Magic and Molly's exuberant greeting when I return home from work.
And I haven't been doing stuff either. Haven't been riding my bike along the avenue of smooth new blacktopped roads running through our neighborhood. Haven't been talking with friends over drinks at our favorite outdoor cafe. Haven't been playing piano for any singers anxious to rehearse.
So I'm neither vital nor eager.
Eagerness - it's that "on your mark, get set, go!" kind of feeling. The "can't wait to get started" butterflies in your heart, the chomping at the bit, hooves pawing the ground urgency.
I vaguely remember it...
Do you?
A young woman whose work I greatly admire has an inspirational project afloat in the blog world. It's called Be Brave, and it challenges participants to "do one thing each day that scares you." One thing about which you would normally shy away, procrastinate, or say "Oh, I couldn't..."
In addition to Being Brave, perhaps we should add Stay Eager to our list of personal challenges. Pay attention to the things that exicte us, and find new things when old familiar ones begin to pale.
I'll be on the lookout for some.
I'll keep you posted.
So, how about you? Have you been Paying Attention? How do you Stay Eager?