the deepening ground

STUCK. Stuck stuck stuck stuck stuck! At best, what I have written recently feels like crap (I use that word intentionally – see below). True, responsibilities have kept me busy. Harry Chapin said it best in Cat’s in the Cradle: “But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay.” True, this afternoon I chose to take the hour to sled with my three younger sons in the backyard rather than sit with my thoughts. True, things haven’t been easy recently, especially for my wife. But every time I come to the Aquarius song in my constellation series or just try to write anything, it feels shallow, an echo of something already written, or, as Shakespeare so aptly put it, “a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing” (Macbeth). So when I saw my wife’s folder by the computer with The Imperfectionist Manifesto by Melissa Dinwiddie, I knew it wasn’t a coincidence.

I’m not sure if Melissa would consider her manifesto to be poetry, but it is poetic, and so I share it here primarily as advice to myself. I need to hear, “Remember: you need crap to fertilize the good stuff!” and “Allowing yourself to create crap doesn’t mean you will – it just means you’ll create!” May it be an encouragement to you as well whenever you feel that all you have to offer is crap.

The Imperfectionist Manifesto by Melissa Dinwiddie