Wordworthian Openness

 “There is ecstasy in paying attention,” says Anne Lamott. She recommends it because you can achieve a Wordsworthian openness to the world with God at the helm. If you go with it, in writing, the writing’s fun. Anne suggests that “The first draft is the child’s draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later.” Later, you can edit it, pull it together in a way that makes sense, mold it into something someone else can read and appreciate, but first, have fun, let the words that come from the God within take over, the words tumble out, unbidden and unedited. Like I’m doing now—is this first draft shitty, or is it saying what I need to say? Oh, I meandered a bit like Virginia Woolf, but that’s what I do, and I’m paying attention, in an ecstasy that’s very akin to what I feel when I’m on a good walk.