"Yes, life is insane. But the great wisdom of the Warrior lies in choosing his insanity wisely." Paulo Coelho, Warrior of the Light.
Breathe.
It's an easy enough command to remember, especially when it's a natural action for many of us.
Reminders are good, though, when the focus becomes to sporadic and is pulled into many directions all at the same time. Life can do this. Writing can do this as well. Big or small, insane or not, finding a moment to breathe can bring a desperately needed balance.
This can mean taking a few extra minutes to enjoy the cup of coffee or sitting down to watch a favorite television show or movie. Or maybe it means a walk along the river or calling an old friend.
Breathe. Or the insanity will take over completely and the controlled chaos you wish to dictate will start to dictate you.
Simple reminders on this first day of October.
UPDATES
The months of September and October always see an uptick in productivity, thanks to the start of college football season.
While I still enjoy the NFL, marked by my annual "throwing away money on fantasy football ritual", college football has overtaken the pros as far as my interest level is concerned. This might be in large part because of the opportunities provided to me to write about the Boise State Broncos and Boston College Eagles.
Balancing out the sports writing with theater, I'm currently working as dramaturg for Alley Repertory Theater's production of The Cake by Bekah Brunstetter. We are also in full on pre-production mode for our Christmas show, Jodi Sings Judy, in which I have plenty to do behind-the-scenes.
The Christmas show opens at the end of November while The Cake opens October 18.
Taking Flight, a short film I co-wrote with Shelby Bay and Brandon Freeman last year (directed by Freeman as well) was selected to be shown at the Twin Falls Sandwiches Film Festival. This festival runs November 2 and 3.
Other film projects/scripts have currently taken a backseat as I have pulled my focus to three things: A rewrite of my recently completed full-length play Half Past Midnight, finishing my youth holiday story by Thanksgiving, and continuing the first draft of part two from the Magic of Crieo series, The Dragon Slayer.
Part one, The Blue Gem, is now only $2.99 (with hopes of having it in paperback by the holidays).
ACROSS THE TREASURE VALLEY IN OCTOBER
You've heard of first Thursday in downtown Boise? So why not give First Friday in the Surel Mitchell Live Work Create District in Garden City a try! Come on by October 5 from 5:30 pm-8:30 pm.
Theater really takes off across the Treasure Valley in the month of October, with all sorts of productions showing up on the radar. Here are but a few (in addition to The Cake):
Opal Theatre has a reading of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? on October 8th at White Dog Brewing.
HomeGrown Theatre's 7th Annual Horrific Puppet Affair runs from 10/18 to 10/31 at The Gem Center for the Arts
Boise Contemporary Theater has a production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time beginning October 17 and running through November 10.
Along with Alley Rep's The Cake, the Visual Arts Collective also has a busy month ahead, including performances by Off Center Dance.
And for those writers out there, a workshop starting Oct. 17.
Thanks for stopping by.
Be bold. Be kind.
Twitter: @jasonrh_78
Blog: The Journey of Now