I wasn’t expecting to teach a full session of my writing workshop today, I was thinking we would meet briefly on the telephone conference line  and I would move along to the other “stuff”

on my sometimes relentless “to-do” list.

I shared a couple quotes from Noah Lukeman:

"It is always through the unexpected, the unorthodox that artist's break through to higher levels of

performance."

And then this one, which is ironically in Lukeman’s book entitled "The First Five Pages" which is about the structure or form of the first five pages of a book so that the book will be picked up by a publisher.... gotta love it!

"Most of the truly great artists have broken all the rules, and this is precisely what has made them great. What would have become of  Beethoven's music if he'd chased rules instead of inspiration? Of van Gogh's painting?"

I got this wacky image of Vincent van Gogh’s mother whining at him, “Vincent, Vincent… you are using too much paint!”  and then I opened up a discussion. 

Artists and writers in passionate discussion is always a soul-opening experience, especially when you get into the merits of rules, breaking rules and inspiration.

I watched the flow and decided, “Hey, let’s write this,” and was, as usual, inspired by the words which came immediately off both my pencil and the pencils of everyone in the teleclassroom.

The prompt given was “When rules and inspiration meet, I…”

When rules and inspiration meet, I find freedom.

I take root.

I dance with angels while my feet feel mud underneath them - I wiggle my toes to feel the darkened ooziness well up from deep in the Earth.  My nose inhales the freshly mown grass alongside the mud and I smile with intense satisfaction.

Where rules and inspiration meet, I understand in

new and profound ways. The “shoulds” evaporate and

leave a kissable dew-mist on my cheeks.

My skin, moist, soft creative lines of love and thought leave traces of all that has been and all that is yet to become because of and through me.

Lines of brooks, streams, rivers, rivers, rivers,

following the flow, the norms, their centuries old

structure, yet comfortably subside for a while so

that I can nestle into their softness…. inspiration… from rules’ residue…..

= + = + =

What do you notice when rules and inspiration meet?

What do you feel, hear, see, smell, touch, taste, know?

Come along with us… write in response to…

When rules and inspiration meet, I……