“The word unfolds in time, like a procession of ants, and each one brings something new and unexpected; he who expresses himself in words is born anew each second; scarcely has one sentence been completed than the next one supplements it, completes it, and behold in the movement of words the endless play of my existence expresses itself – when I express myself in words, I am like a tree in the wind, rustling, quivering.”
– Witold Gombrowicz, Diary Volume 2
__________
“I think ideas are as real as trees.”
– Jim Harrison, Conversations with Jim Harrison
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A tree grows slowly.
During its life there is a yearly cycle of change.
Leaves abound then fall.
The glory of spring and summer turn to autumn’s letting go. Then the bare existence of winter.
A tree is never static.
It’s cycles are a kind of self-grooming: it prevents overgrowth.
I need to accept that there are constant thoughts and ideas swirling in my head.
If I do not write them down, then they remain within, snarled and entangled.
In writing, they become real. I can sort, file, keep, or discard them.
Writing is a practice of constant renewal.
The real skill is in the management of the mind forest.
Sure, wildness is fantastic. But what I need to do is create a habitat in which I can thrive.
Conversations With Quotations 