Procrastination is not Laziness", I tell him. "It is fear. Call it by its right name, and forgive yourself.

There is no such thing as being done with an artistic life. Frustrations and rewards exist at all levels on the path.

I learned to just show up at the page and write down what I heard. Writing became more like eavesdropping and less like inventing a nuclear bomb.

If we have plain old ordinary fear then we are within reach of a solution. Fear has been with humankind for millennia and we do know what to do about it-pray about it, talk about it, feel the fear, and do it anyway. Artistic fear, on the other hand, sounds somehow nastier and more virulent, like it just might not yield to ordinary solutions-and yet it does, the moment we become humble enough to try ordinary solutions.

Become willing to see the hand of God and accept it as a friend's offer to help you with what you are doing.

We go into parenting, and we discover that we don't have the answers. We are at a loss.

Our moods and insights are transitory. This current is a flow of grace moving us to our right livelihood, companions, destiny.