Natalie Goldberg Deck: Card #11

“You’ve finally eked out space to write…but there’s nothing you feel like writing about. Don’t pop up or pull a different card. Sit there for ten minutes, feeling your breath. Allow everything to be as it is. Just for now I’m asking you to be. Now write what you can accept with no judgment, no criticism.”

Photo by Tina Lear

I’m working through the Natalie Goldberg deck of writing subjects. Each card in this world-renowned author and zen teacher’s Deck contains a writing topic on one side and a short lesson on the reverse, delivered in Natalie’s honest, heartfelt urgency. “This is my wish for you:” she says. “[T]hat you take these cards, grab the topic on one side and write, write, write . . . Remember no good or bad. Just words on the page.”

What can I accept with no judgment, no criticism?

1. The enormous electric pencil sharpener I bought. Big enough to take up half the space behind my laptop screen. A kindergarten teacher should be the one using it. Or an art teacher. I only use one of its six sizes.
2. The Verilux light I bought to make me happy. I only remember about .7% of the time to turn it on. I don’t even know if I believe it…