A STORY. 105. SOMETHING IS GENERATING

It’s cold outside the bookstore. The wind is harsh. You hunch your shoulders a bit, as if that would keep out the cold. But you’re not walking quickly. You have a lot on your mind.

At home, your desk is cluttered with notes, paragraphs, ideas for the book you’re working on, which has had various potential titles, most recently The Creative Flame: Ruminations. The small academic press at your university is sure to publish it and send out copies to various libraries. Will anyone read it? Perhaps you will create a course.

Your mind goes back to the poem you’ve just read.

Love. It’s like creativity, you think, breaking floodgates.

More lines from the poem come to mind.

You wonder. How important is safety for love and for creativity?

Your messy desk. A very safe space for your ideas, your musings.

Maybe next you will write about safety and creativity.

And what about love?

Safety. Love. Creativity.

There is also the safety of having enough time to let things brew. You give time willingly, gladly, to your musings, your ruminations - like to the poems.

The last lines of the poem come to mind.

You laugh. Stop. Wait. Go on. You’ve been doing that.

But now it really is time for you to go on a bit more quickly. It really is quite cold out.

To be continued . . .
https://elsaiselsa.substack.com/p/a-story-106-the-days-keep-slipping

A STORY. ALL THE CHAPTERS ... UP TO NOW
https://elsaiselsa.substack.com/p/a-story-table-of-contents-up-to-now

Posted January 6, 2025