Zen of writing a meal

The Zen of writing a meal

"Zen master, I have struggled for years to achieve a oneness with myself, and the entire universe. How might I achieve my goal's more quickly?"

"Your goal is like a meal, with dessert waiting to be eaten afterwards. If you place all your focus on the dessert, then you lose out on the flavor that the meal is offering."

There has been one important lesson that I have learned recently. If all I do is focus on the end result of my writing, then I miss out on the ride that got me there. All too often I am more concerned with becoming a writer, or deciding the end of a story. Instead I should be more focused on the "here and now" of what I am doing. By placing my full attention on what I am currently writing, I can better focus on what I am trying to attain. There are many times that not even I know the ending of a story until I arrive there. Then and only then does the ending play out and I am able to participate fully in the creation of the ending.

All too often I am so focused on the goal of the matter that I lose myself in the process of what is happening now. Looking back after completing a short story I usually find myself with the daunting task of fixing many mistakes. However after some practice, I have found that if I am aware within the moment, fully exposing myself to the words as they appear, I make fewer mistakes and can present a more appealing story. While I have yet to master this technique, there have been some improvements in my practice.

I know that I can become a better writer by placing myself more devoutly into my writing. And I believe that anyone can do this if they to follow the same practice.

Sit back and enjoy the ride while you are on it. Worry about the end result when you arrive.