A colleague of mine in a writing group pointed out how they had been waiting to write a section of their dissertation and mention how they had all the sources they needed written down and that it should be a walk in the park. Then they remarked, "I look forward to finding out why it isn't."

I found this remark calming. It reminds me that my instinct around areas of challenge are to tense up, when the most successful I've been is to loosen up. Who was it who said something like, 'I'm really busy today. I'd better meditate twice as much."

What is the balance between the quality tenseness that is useful for getting something done and the level of looseness that is required in order to face obstacles without giving up? I've never thought about it until now, but there is a physical therapy office here called "Tensegrity." An apt name for working hard to learn how one's body can be used to perform more efficiently, creating more longevity and decreasing the likelihood of injuries. In the Tao of Jeet Kune Do, which I scanned quickly for this quote, Bruce Lee remarks:

"One of the greatest adjustments the novice athlete must make in competition is to overcome the natrual tendency to try too hard--to hurry, strain, press and try to blast the whole fight at once...[t]he body performs better when the athlete lets it go than when he tries to drive it."

Wishing you the best in cultivating balance.

Let's write.