Write with the Spirit of an Explorer

When we sit down at our desks we do not always need to know what we are going to write.   We do not need to have a destination.  We do not always have to be writing the next chapter of our book or working on an article.  We should guard against our writing becoming another task on our ‘to do’ list.  It is good sometimes to just dive in and see where our words take us.  It is good to show up on the page with the spirit of an explorer about to step off the edge of all known maps.  

When I was young my parents liked to ‘go for a drive’ on weekend afternoons in the summer.  ‘Go for a drive’ was different than running errands, because going for a drive meant not having a purpose or a destination in mind.

On those lazy afternoons the world unfurled beyond my backseat window.  We lived in a rural area
so our drives meant empty country roads between big green fields under a blue sky that was even bigger.  There were pastures with black and white Holstein cows and country stores with ice
cream parlours.  There were tall corridors of corn and sudden views of the lake.  And all of it appeared in the frame of that backseat window as I stuck my right hand out, cupping the air as we
drove.  I was young and had no expectations so everything was a wonder.  

It can be the same with our writing.  It is good to sometimes let our words pass through us as easily as miles beneath the tires of our dad’s old Chevy.  It is good to be big on the page.  It is good hold out your hand and caress the words as they rush by. 

Try:  Write, “I remember” and see where it takes you.