As I venture out into the neighborhood on my daily walks, I notice how beautiful people’s yards have become. It is not just because it is spring. My neighbors are digging into the dirt: planting flowers and vegetables, mowing their lawns, putting up new fences, adding rocks and new features to their yards.
I wonder what else they are digging into? Perhaps thinking about what is truly important in their lives now, or grieving a loved one, or delving deep into Netflix offerings, or wondering how to pay the rent. Or maybe all of these? Each day, each hour may reveal a new thought, feeling, memory. How are you capturing these?
I know that my moods and my thoughts are ever changing. Sometimes an intense lethargy takes over, and I succumb to a nap. Sometimes I make a big batch of granola, something I haven’t done for more than 30 years. I call or text friends and family, especially those that are living alone as I imagine that is very difficult right now.
I have also used this time to dig into theater and plays. I am participating in play readings and workshops via Zoom with the Playwrights Center. I am reading plays out loud with my local friends over a conference call. I am watching amazing plays through the National Theater and Public Theater’s YouTube channels. I am learning.
And, I am starting to do research for the new play that I am imagining. It is coming slowly, but I also feel the momentum building.
I am curious about what this period of digging in will manifest for myself and others. The only thing that I truly know is that I don’t know. “What is this? Don’t know.” That is the mantra that my Zen school offered to me more than 20 years ago. Now I understand and am trying live it on a level I never have before.
What are you digging into?
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