I woke up with a start at 11:30pm on Saturday night. I didn’t post anything today!
I had forgotten to post: so many things swept up to take hold of the day. New York got a blizzard with 22 inches of snow. Alex and I hiked through it to take a 16-hour weekend class on birthing, massage, postpartum, and newborn care. My head was full. My feet were tired.
I didn’t write.
So began the conundrum:
Lying in bed, do I get up and rush to the computer? Do I stay up late, disrupt my routine, insist that the deadline is more important than all else?
Or—and I think arguably this is harder for me—do I find a way to relax into the moment, let it go, and begin anew the next day?
I decided to try to skip posting. My head frantically came up with things to write and say while I was in bed. I exhaled and said, tomorrow. Tomorrow. We can begin again tomorrow.
It is okay to be imperfect.
The challenge for me, and I don’t know how many other people feel this way as well, is not letting one lapse cloud and cluster my judgment. Would missing a day throw me off kilter? Would I backslide and decide that not writing was easier, and I’d just skip a few days, who cared?
The next day, the practice was as follows: rise and wake, and begin again. Every day, we begin again.
Don’t frantically try to “catch up” and write the past essays, or write through every single prompt. Start today, with one essay, with one post.
Every day is a new day.
Here we are.
We begin, again.