Writing Like a Buddha: A Koan of Inspiration

 

Sometimes I get stuck when writing. Call it Writer’s block. That’s when I read a koan. Like the poem Providence from The Really Short Poems of A.R. Ammons.

PROVIDENCE
To stay
bright as
if just
thought of
earth requires
only that
nothing stay.

A good koan says a lot with its words and its silence.

Today during your day, make some observations. Recite them to yourself. Then forget them. Watch them float away. Hear their silence.