It seems I am always writing. I have written in doctor offices, hospital rooms, and coffee shops. I have composed pieces during quiet moments while babies napped, while standing in countless lines, waiting for a mechanic to fix my car, sitting with the family watching tv, cooking and eating dinner, and while I listen to blaring music. None of those situations impedes my ability to concentrate or stops me from constructing sentences, forming paragraphs, and searching for unique word combinations. The more distractions, the more I write. My mind focuses, and I block the cacophony.

Reading, however, requires solitude and silence, and binge reading is my secret indulgence. Others might consider a spa day as self-care, but there is nothing I enjoy more than the luxury of reading a book from cover to cover. My idea of a glorious Saturday night is curling into my chair with a book. If I have selected wisely, I turn the pages, blissfully unaware of time passing. Time stretches as the pages turn. My thoughts surge, forming deep whirlpools of unconnected facts, and the well of inspiration fills. The only interruption is the sound of my pen scratching notes in the margins. Tired, inspired, I feel my neurons rewire themselves. In the early Sunday morning quietude, I grab a steaming cup of coffee, and I fill my notebook with ideas.

Does reading fill your creativity tank?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Some weeks drive me to drink. I admit it is a short trip, and no one really needs to twist my arm. Besides, I always opt for healthiest options. It’s true, and I even have the blessings from the Mayo Clinic website.

Among other things, they say red wine is full of antioxidants that may prevent coronary artery disease by increasing levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or the “good” cholesterol while lowering the bad (LDL) cholesterol and helping prevent blood clots. The trick is selecting wine made from dark grapes. This is not a problem for me, as my tastebuds prefer a full-bodied Chianti Classico, a rich and oaky Merlot, the earthy flavors of a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, or Brunello di Montalcino. What can I say—Adoro i vini Toscani.

The health benefits don’t stop there. Thanks to the antioxidants like resveratrol, epicatechin, catechin, and proanthocyanidins, red wine may help regulate blood sugar, reduce the risk of cancer, fight the common cold, keep your memory sharp, and keep you slim. Wait, hold the presses. Keep you slim? According to researchers, piceatannol, a chemical converted from resveratrol, reduces the fat cells in the body by blocking the receptors that form the pathways required for immature fat cells to grow.

Red wine can also reduce the risk of depression and aid digestion. Moderate wine consumption is defined as a daily intake of 1 glass (150 ml) for women and 2 glasses (300 ml) for men. Ok, sorry, but I’m still stuck on the part where I drink red wine daily and grow fewer fat cells. Where is my wine glass?

How do you celebrate Fridays?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

I love watching singers perform. As they close their eyes, they pull emotions from unfathomable depths, and I wonder if they notice the crowd swaying and singing with them. Emotions bubble to the surface, hearts soar, eyes fill with tears, and thousands of audience members connect to a collective, familiar feeling. Everyone at the concert transforms into your new best friend, even if you have never met them. Individual differences, petty grievances, and personal agendas dissolve as we recognize ourselves in the unlimited beauty reflected in the sea of humanity.

It’s not only singers but poets, painters, gardeners, writers, architects, bakers, and every creator who has ever lived who finds access to the source of inspiration by looking inside themselves. I’ve always wondered how we can feel, see, and sense more when we momentarily and voluntarily blind ourselves. How can we connect more fully with others when we block out the world and lose ourselves in the creative process?

Yet, even with our eyes closed, we still see. A kaleidoscope of colors, stars, lines, swirls, flashes, negative images of what we were viewing before shutting our eyes, and pulsations populate the darkened world. Scientists classify the many things we “see” collectively as entoptic phenomena and dismiss them as “visual noise” or “closed-eye hallucinations” or “phosphenes.” They speculate the retina in its resting state produces electrical charges that create the images.

The nineteenth-century psychologist Gustav Theodor Fechner baptized what our eyes observed when they remained closed, a color now cataloged in HTML as #16161d – Eigengrau. Fechner pulled from his Saxony German dialect to create a word that poetically illuminates that world. “Eigen” translates as “own light” while “Grau” means simply “gray.” It is the color of nothingness and everything. Somehow it seems fitting.

What do you see when you close your eyes?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

We all start somewhere. We each have 24 hours every day and seven days in the 52 weeks that create an entire year. If you checked in with most of us, you wouldn’t notice much difference from one year to the next. Minor changes, maybe. There is an updated hairstyle and the vacation to the family cabin we visit every summer. That, despite insisting this year, we will learn a new language, change jobs, lose weight and get fit, and start visiting those bucket list locations. Almost everything remains the same.

Except for our one friend. You know who I’m talking about. They backpacked through Vietnam, took up Jiu-jitsu, lost 20 pounds, and they are starting a new position on Monday where they will advance their career further by working with the big-name guru in their field. Yeah, I’m looking at my shoes too and wondering why I’m not as lucky as my friend.

Perhaps the reason I haven’t done those things is that I don’t want them enough. Yikes. Could it be true? Do we imagine it would be “nice” to learn French, or are we determined to do whatever it takes to speak the language like a native Parisian? It is a subtle distinction, but it creates a shift in the underlying mindset and increases your aspirations and your willingness to walk the walk.

Have you always dreamed of being a concert pianist? What is holding you back from your dream? We can’t control outcomes. There is no guarantee you will perform at Carnegie Hall, but taking ownership of your life means you can control the “doing.” Owning your dreams means taking action and aligning your daily, monthly, and yearly activities with your desires. You may fail. It’s a risk, but what have you got to lose? There is no rewind in life – taking risks generates rewards, and unforeseen opportunities materialize when you are willing to accept the worst that might happen.

What do you really want to achieve?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer