finding momentum

I once read somewhere that the mind is like a slow moving ship — it takes an enormous amount of effort and energy to change its direction, but once it’s reoriented, it will keep moving along that path — however slowly.

the secret to motion and change, then, is about finding momentum.

recently, I’ve been consumed by a physical, emotional, and psychological inertia that feels like full body paralysis. I’ve lost willpower and motivation for nearly everything, and spin my mind in obsessive dark circles, attempting to recover my old daily rituals, do my work projects, pursue language learning endeavors, to respond to my friends and emails — to very little success.

the problem is that I never found momentum — my mind is spinning in a million directions, and thus my energy feels scattered, going no where, taking me in circles.

I know how to solve this problem. I teach courses about creative routines and rituals, in which I emphasize the importance of daily rituals. clearly, people will teach what they’ve most struggled with — and overcome.

finding momentum is simply about consistency in doing daily practices and personal rituals which ground, center, nourish, and expand. momentum applies to everything — to creating art, to doing work, to learning a new skill, to feeling emotionally well, to having harmonious relationships.

it is finding the momentum to see the light, instead of only the darkness. and it begins one day at a time.

what do you want to do?

learn a language? write a book? make music? find more joy? submit paperwork for bureaucratic things?

you have to do it everyday. even for just ten minutes a day.

each day daisy-chains on the last, until one day, you realize that the ship has turned direction.

the principle is so stupidly simple that I’d like to ignore it. but I think it’s true.

time for me to follow my own advice. thank god for this journal, or I’ll forget what I tell myself.