Diagnosed with ADD? “Centered” Saved Me.
From endless overwhelm to the quiet realm of “Done.”
I’m late to the ADD party. Only recently has my lifetime of distraction, forgetting, losing stuff suddenly made sense. I’ve had so much trouble getting the right time joined with the right date so I show up at 2pm on Wednesday (instead of 2pm on Thursday) that my friend says about me, “The train just doesn’t stop there.” Creatives can often fall into that trouble, so I always blamed it on my singer/songwriter nature.
[Insert here long paragraph about trying to solve this problem. Therapy; day books; notes up on the fridge, bathroom mirror, steering wheel of car; accountability buddies; self-improvement workshops, retreats, etc.; meditation; yoga; apps, oh my God, apps. Up the yazoo.]
It’s not that none of those things worked. All those attempts show you I was doing the best I could at the time. Hurling myself at the problem, over and over. Workin’ it. Never giving up.
But if you’re lucky, you will come across what you need, exactly when you need it; and that’s what happened when my daughter, who suffers from pretty intense ADD, called me and said, “Mom…” read more
Natalie Goldberg Deck: Card #12
“Where do you find injustice? What do you feel about it?”
I’m working through the Natalie Goldberg deck of writing subjects. Each card in this world-renowned author and zen teacher’s Deck contains a writing topic on one side and a short lesson on the reverse, delivered in Natalie’s honest, heartfelt urgency. “This is my wish for you:” she says. “[T]hat you take these cards, grab the topic on one side and write, write, write . . . Remember no good or bad. Just words on the page.”
Where do I find injustice?
I’m trying to resist the low-hanging fruit: police brutality, trans-shaming, the despicable state of elder care in our country, the fact that battered women can get a restraining order but the Supreme Court has said the police have no duty to enforce it, or the fact that sending our kids to school these days is no guarantee they won’t come home in a coffin.
Where to start? I mean, seriously, where would you even start to write about “where do I find injustice?”
Whenever I’m this riled up, I try to come back home to my body. And in doing so, I try to remember that the only thing I can control is my own thinking, in my own life. So let’s try this exercise one more time. With my feet pressing into the ground, and the back of my heart softened into a deeper listening place, where do I find injustice? (read more…)
Two Video Recommendations
The Elephant Whisperers
One of the most beautiful documentaries I’ve ever seen. No wonder it won an Oscar.
Fantastic Fungi
I learned so much during this movie. It is awe-inspiring. Watch it. It will make a difference in how you see everything.
Blessings to all of you. May you be free of suffering, and full of joy!