Movement and Motion
So I'm sitting in my writing group about 2 months ago... Now, first let me point out that this group was rather interesting due to the fact that it consisted of 12 women and yours truly. And let me tell you, that as much as we all love to rail against notions of prejudice and the toxic idea that we are not all unique snowflakes, stereotypes exist for a reason: 9 times out of 10 these women would write about touchy-feely relationship stuff, and 9 times out of 10 someone would get brutally murdered in my piece. It made for an interesting group dynamic.
But to get to the kink in the elbow: one day we assigned ourselves the task of writing about that which nourishes us. Lo-and-behold the woman sitting next to me started on about long walks on beaches and her sister and a quiet cup of tea at sunset... blah blah blah. But when I burned through the basement-rags of my indecision and pen hit paper, what came out made me realize a wee something about meself: I was writing about 'movement'
Movement is what nourishes me. Not just the physical engagement and propulsion of oneself (although that is vitally key), but also the progression of all states of being: mental, social, even 'carreer' (what one preoccupies oneself with), as well as physical.
True, movement is change, and change breaks routine, and routine is pattern, and pattern abstracts, and abstraction distances from reality... (and therefore one can accuse movement of making reality seem fresh by breaking down abstraction), but movement for the sake of change, for this reason, is a crutch. Nope, movement is more than that: it is vital. It really and truly nourishes. It is the essence of being alive.
Damn, it feels good when things are rolling along in life. Got a good direction, plans in motion, actions are leading to results, etc etc. And man does it suck when stagnation sinks in. Going nowhere, nothing to look forward to - 'what's the point of it all anyway' thoughts.
I thought I had it all figured out: in my states-of-being model, movement is progression (good) and lack of movement is stagnation (bad).
But something new happened to me that hit me worse than stagnation, and had never really happened to me before: a feeling, and a certainty of Regression... backwards movement.
It really takes some coming to terms with. Be wary of your states of being folks. And be careful how you move.
But to get to the kink in the elbow: one day we assigned ourselves the task of writing about that which nourishes us. Lo-and-behold the woman sitting next to me started on about long walks on beaches and her sister and a quiet cup of tea at sunset... blah blah blah. But when I burned through the basement-rags of my indecision and pen hit paper, what came out made me realize a wee something about meself: I was writing about 'movement'
Movement is what nourishes me. Not just the physical engagement and propulsion of oneself (although that is vitally key), but also the progression of all states of being: mental, social, even 'carreer' (what one preoccupies oneself with), as well as physical.
True, movement is change, and change breaks routine, and routine is pattern, and pattern abstracts, and abstraction distances from reality... (and therefore one can accuse movement of making reality seem fresh by breaking down abstraction), but movement for the sake of change, for this reason, is a crutch. Nope, movement is more than that: it is vital. It really and truly nourishes. It is the essence of being alive.
Damn, it feels good when things are rolling along in life. Got a good direction, plans in motion, actions are leading to results, etc etc. And man does it suck when stagnation sinks in. Going nowhere, nothing to look forward to - 'what's the point of it all anyway' thoughts.
I thought I had it all figured out: in my states-of-being model, movement is progression (good) and lack of movement is stagnation (bad).
But something new happened to me that hit me worse than stagnation, and had never really happened to me before: a feeling, and a certainty of Regression... backwards movement.
It really takes some coming to terms with. Be wary of your states of being folks. And be careful how you move.
7 Comments:
Nicely said.
I would offer a counter to your "backwards movement" though. I would suggest that even on those occasions when you stop and look around and discover that what you see is something you've seen before...it doesn't necessarily mean you've moved backwards. It more likely means that you passed this way before, headed in a different direction and now you've looped around and just happen to be passing thought the same way, but headed in an entirely different direction. The place may be the same, but you aren't, and where you're headed next isn't, and maybe the loop that has you passing through the same place twice is just to allow you to build momentum for the place you're headed next, at even greater speed.
Not all progress is visible. Nobody interesting moves in a straight line. And you, my friend, are interesting.
Thank you sir.
And you bring up a very good point GK. A very good point, and that's how I'll look at it. It's just when that feeling strikes you that you've been here before, it's pretty overwhelming. The key I guess is to step back and realize the differences.
While touchy-feely writing is not just a women's domain (witness the many syrupy rock ballads of the 80s) I agree it is overrepresented in the main by women who want to write. I wonder if this isn't because they have not yet written past a certain point of fear... Women talk about relationships a lot. They are comfortable with the subject area as a result. It is therefore the easiest jumping off point into writing, believing, as many people do, that "serious" writing involves great soul-searching or flowery considerations of all things bright and beautiful. But it's not just a woman thing... it's just a first attempt novice thing. We've all done this a thousand times... read with a shudder some of the essays we wrote in first-year, if you need a reminder.
But, moving to your elbow... Glenn offers a sage perspective. He is wise beyond his years! I cannot claim the same wisdom, but add this Buddist-inspired comment:
Modern western thought has traded the moral comfort of absolutes for the freedoms of relativism, yet ironically, we are still bowed by dichotomies of ideas: eg. forward equals good / backward equals bad.
A car is designed to drive forward in gear, idle in neutral, and reverse when needed. There is no good or bad here, because these are all necessary functions. It would be a pretty useless car that couldn't do all three. I don't see why it's any different for us.
Maybe what you've got is an opportunity to see something you missed earlier, to do something over again or for the first time, or to appreciate the way you came before. It is what it is, so see where it leads you.
I would like to change my answer to what MrsMuppet said...
I just realized "Roggles" sounds a lot like "Bloggles". Bloggles, Blog, get it? Hehehehe.
You're in a writing group? What kind of writing do you do in this group? Just screenplays or something else?
having just "moved" across the continent from Toronto to Ocean Beach, California - i understand the essence of what you're referring to. it's one thing to dream and plan, or even expect something to happen, but the secret is actually motivating yourself into that existence - without it, we're literally stuck, and that's a crappy place to be.
I think that your writing allows you to move beyond idle thoughts, to develop things further and as a result actually discover things you never would have without your pen and pad in hand. you've become a stronger person because of it (and thank god SOMEONE was in that writing group to help mess things up a bit!!)
for me, I'm going to try something a little different... i'm going to keep heading west on my journey, -oh, about 20 yards or so, right into the ocean and see how surfing might treat me if I gave it a try. I've been watching all the surfing gods and goddesses on their ritualistic trek to the beach every day, and wonder if they haven't discovered something special us landlubbers know little about. marrying your mind, body and soul to the constant movement of the ocean is a beautiful thing.
keep moving people...
Lovely, Muppet, GKarlsen and Roggles. I can relate a little to Roggles...afraid that if I am not constantly moving, doing something relatively radical and forward-moving, I am horribly mired in a embarrassing, stagnant mulch. I love the idea that we sometimes meander back to the scene of old crimes, transgressions, and happiness for a reason...but instead of examining that state and gleaning some sort of lesson, I bolt and dream up a new, irritating and always exhausting scenario to drive me forward again.
Perhaps we can't properly move forward without moving back occasionally. A nice thought, but I fear I, personally, will always be chasing an elusive dream.
Sometimes I think perpetual movement is the curse of our existence. My goal is less movement and more inspection and introspection. And more rest....sleep good - body and brain. Both purposeful movement and non-movement.
PS - Roggles you are such a lovely writer....
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