PART VI: Imagined Space; Chapter 24: Sitting on Keat's Bench
Even in the heart of Hamstead, upscale London neighborhood and former home of celebrated English poet John Keats, you can still distract yourself with unwriterly thoughts.
Even if they're thoughts about Keats and writing.
Anything that takes you out of yourself and into the world rather than into yourself and your imagination is an unwriterly thought.
Anything that fills your mind with noise, distracts you, or stifles your imagination (156) is an unwriterly thought:
You can completely prevent yourself from fruitfully daydreaming by keeping yourself busy and distracted, or you can mindfully make an opening for your dreams and ideas to enter. What's your preference? (156)
Maisel's using Keats to underscore, once again, the importance of mindfulness. Wherever you go, there you are, as they say. If your mind is busy and distracted, it doesn't matter where you are. You can be at the Georgian home of one of the most famous English Romantic poets, and you'll still need to "silence your everyday mind" (156) in order to tap into your creativity and the place from which you write.
For a few hours on Saturday I was able to do this -- in a Barnes & Noble bookstore at the cafe as my mind whirred and I worked on shaping a rough outline for my NaNoWriMo novel (tentatively titled The Master Gardener).
I didn't let the work worries of last week or the stress of the approaching week distract me. I focused only on what I was imagining and working through.
And after a few hours, when nasty little doubts began to creep in, I slammed closed my netbook and called it quits for the day.
Because I'd achieved a sustained period of creative mindfulness and I wasn't going to let myself spoil that.
And I'm going to do it again -- which is some of what participating in NaNoWriMo is about for me.
Are you, like me, easily distracted by worry and stress? How do you handle those distractions?
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