It is simply that person's time. Ours will come in this lifetime or the next. No matter. Continue to practice.

In writing practice, there's no direction. You enter your own mind and follow it where it takes you. We have a great need to connect with our own mind and our own true self. And all of us have a story to tell.

Oh, my passion! That is what finally carried me through. Let passion burn all the way, heating up every layer of the psyche.

When you write, don't say, "I'm going to write a poem." That attitude will freeze you right away. Sit down with the least expectation of yourself; say, "I am free to write the worst junk in the world."

So even though I couldn't bear writing about cancer, I faced it every day.

Literature gives us the great gift of the present moment.

I consider writing a legitimate Zen practice.