Mental Hot Coco

#Reverb10 prompt today is from author, Leo Babauta.  This one feels like a curve ball, to me.

Prompt: Writing. What do you do each day that doesn't contribute to your writing -- and can you eliminate it?

Powerful prompt!  First thought that comes to mind is TV; Yes, I love to watch Christmas movies, on the Hallmark channel. Okay, some are sappy,but some are really heart warming and stir my thoughts. These movies, warm my heart like hot chocolate. Hot chocolate stirs my soul; it brings back fond memories of being young and going sledding, sliding, and ice skating. I tried skiing, but that wouldn't be in the fond memory category. I went with a couple engaged to be married. He skied; He was my neighbor, we grew up together. His fiance and I had never been, down hill skiing. He tried, to teach us; They started arguing; Then he decided to hire a trainer for us, so he could hit the slopes. Here is where my day became much better. Nice looking guy and he knows the other girl is engaged.  I was accused of falling perhaps to much, by my friends. I did no such thing ;-)  After our lesson, Greg says, "I see you had a lot of attention, hope it pays off". His fiance, Anne is excited to go on the lift.  We were at the Camden Snow Bowl in Maine;It is where the mountains meet the sea. Greg tells us we are going on the bunny slope, for beginners. Anne is giddy; me not so much. It is to high to be a bunny slope.  We get off, panic starts to set in. My hands are wet and my stomach has a knot in it. Greg, now tells us, "They don't have a bunny slope, this is how I learned"... Anne is pissed, I have never heard her swear, never. Every foul word you can imagine is coming out of her mouth. I wish I had stayed home. I stand there, numb and frozen with fear. He looks at me, "Okay, you are going first"  My knees buckle...I can't, I can't do this. Greg explains it is a process, we are going to go zig zag, from this corner to that and do as he says. Greg has always been like a big brother, I trust him. First he makes sure I can stop, then he guides me to ski sideways to this tree, or this corner.  I manage to get a head, while he n' Anne are still going at it. It was an amazing feeling to reach the end of the slope. I think there should of been a cheering squad, a marching band and where is the handsome instructor? lol.  When we finally reach the lodge to get a drink. Greg turns to me and his eyes are bugging out, he is stunned how she acted. He has never seen this side of her before. I remind him fear can do that, think cat in water. Anne is off to get some more info about the hours, lessons, etc. Greg said, Anne wants me to teach her to drive. I said, if you want to marry this woman, You find someone else to do it. He tried to teach her to drive and they didn't marry.

Writing is like skiing, so much influences our thoughts;  Eliminate, not me, not a chance!
 I could cut back on my TV time, but who is to say, what provokes a thought, an idea that sparks and turns into a poem, a story, a work of art, a sheet of music, a painting, etc. We are all diamonds, we start out in the rough, but as we proceed, light is reflected and sometimes brilliance appears.Writing is fragments of our lives and those around us, it might be the girl in the coffee shop, the guy in the grocery line, the person you pass by, etc.  The moments we select are like our dreams and nightmares, except when we write, we chose, what we want to put on the blank page. We then add our imagination, like those fluffy marshmallows, that adds the sweetness and authentic richness to our hot coco. We are in control of accessing the recall, Our mental TIVO.


My answer is No, can't eliminate the slopes to my creative process, can't cut back. It all matters~