I make a point of not planning what I’m going to write here until my cursor has arrived in the input box. In doing this blog I’m influenced by, but not a strict follower of, the journal practice in Guitar Craft. The first statement there of the practice is:
Public Aims:
- To engage the listening community at an earlier stage of the creative process than is commonly available.
- To inform the listening community of the practicalities of that process.
- To de-mystify the process which is, essentially, practical.
Private Aims:
- To encourage the Diarist to recapitulate their experience.
- To provide the Diarist with a pointed stick.
- To expose the Diarist to public ridicule.
A ‘pointed stick’ in GC parlance is a challenge, an irritation, something that wakes us up and makes us act. I’m quite engaged with the idea of practice at the moment – meditation practice in the morning, mindfulness practice all day (I try), writing practice and guitar practice at certain times. Two instances of practice yesterday: sitting in a cafe waiting for a work appointment and not having a cake with my tea. Why is it practice? Watching the arising desire for a cake, watching it fall again. Repeatedly. Hilarious. Not having a cake should be added to the scriptures of practice. In the evening, some flatpacked furniture was delivered for Pest’s room. Normally Madame and I would work together on it, creating comedy worthy of Buster Keaton. But she was too tired, Pest was busy with homework, Plague late home. Rather than postpone it, and rather than offer my mind to the usual demons of distraction on the web, I decided to quietly go upstairs and assemble one of the pieces myself, with the challenge being: assemble this correctly without losing your temper at any point, and without the need to dissemble it and start again. Reader, I have rarely achieved this goal before, but last night I did. What a good boy am I.