Seasons, Nature, and Writing Rituals by Alan Anderson

 

Daily Ritual to Begin My Day

Before breakfast or anything else my wife and I begin each day with morning prayers, Scripture reading, and brief meditation from our Orthodox Saints. In our faith walk this is a constant never missed unless because of illness or an emergency. If one of us is ill the other carries on with our morning ritual while the other listens and prays.

 

My Morning Writing Ritual

My writing, “ritual,” changes from time to time, even from day to day. Here is the reason. I mentioned in my blog post of February 20, 2021, my challenge with extreme obstructive sleep apnea. https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/37258556/1460840901707753563 This challenge continues to this day although my memory and concentration improved somewhat since I began using a C-Pap machine.

 

A diagnosis of sleep apnea has given me a relief to know what has been going on with me. I am now aware of how I can maximize my writing energy to be productive and lucid. These days I may write anywhere from three to five hours in a day. The earlier in the morning I begin the more I can concentrate. Through self-experimentation I have found if I neglect to use my C-PAP machine my writing energy is lower. The lesson? Use my C-PAP machine every night.

 

 

Part of my ritual when I write is to do so for thirty minutes then take a five-minute break. This helps me minimize distractions like when my mind tries to lure me to another project. Okay, here is where it might strike you as odd. I do a lot of self-talk when I write. Yes, my secret is now out. I talk to myself when I want to make sure I use the correct words for a sentence or paragraph. For instance, as I was writing this paragraph, I had a little argument with myself to decide whether to let out my secret. Not a giant tiff, just a wee discussion before I continued.

 

 

For the most part I focus on poetry. As I wrote in my Feb. 20, 2021, blog post, “I find poetry is easier to focus on. While concentration continues to be a struggle, I can write at least one poem draft per week. I turned to poetry in hopes not only to sharpen my writing skills but also aid in my concentration.” This is still the case although my concentration is better than in early 2021.

 

 

Nature & Writing Ritual.

I am blessed to live in an area surrounded by mountains, farms, the Fraser River, and flocks of wild birds. I can access all this nature by walks on the dike five minutes away. This is natural relief for writer’s block or when my mind needs a break. Walks on the dike mean I can formulate or even rewrite poems in my head. My concentration is more like a friend when I walk the dike.

 

 

Spring/Autumn and My Writing Ritual

I love spring and with this season my writing ritual goes into high gear. I do not know what it is about spring, but with its appearance I feel energized even more to write. I also love autumn and its soft caresses as breezes become a pal to hang out with.

 

 

I thank God for the words I write. I thank Him for the ability to write. I thank Him for my rituals of writing. May my words be eager to care for and bless the world.

 

 

Alan lives in Deroche, B.C. with his wife, Terry, and their poodle, Charlie. He contributed stories to Good Grief People by Angel Hope Publishing, 2017; Story by Story: The Power of a Writer, Unstoppable Writers Publishing, 2018; Easter Stories & More by InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship, 2021. He is currently working on a book expressing the grief of grieving grandparents entitled, Hidden Poetic Voices: A Reflective Work of Grief, Faith, and Poetry. Alan periodically writes articles for FellowScript Magazine. He has written posts for our InScribe blog since 2015. Blog: https://scarredjoy.ca.