Jeweled Breadcrumb #14 : discipline to stay the course
waves of willow fronds sweep earth
a dancer’s petticoat weeps
curtsies to rambunctious wind
again and again and again begin
butterfly stretches, bend, pliè, tendu, degagè, every day
rather than stalking glory
weeping willow dancer kowtows
yields to practice ground
warm up work out repeat
again and again and again
throw back shielding sheets
feed obedient dog pray
curtsy to virgin page
again and again and again begin
wait in wordless space
wonder write erase
rather than scribe for glory
weeping willow writer kowtows
yields to waiting praying
warm up work out repeat
again and again and again
obedient as willow fronds
to wind’s fickle weeping
i pray
again and again and again
what would You have me say
and wait
Breadcrumb
Almost every morning I hit the day’s floor wondering, “What in the world will i write today?” So I feed the dog, make coffee and pray, “O Holy One, what would You have me say?” and wait. Waiting is good until I try to coax the wind, then inevitably find my self (or should I say lose my self?) rowing in a raving ocean. The discipline of waiting precedes writing. And so I practice waiting, for the joy of it.
A dancer practices six or more hours each day, five days a week to occasionally perform for less than thirty minutes. Discipline precedes the Dance. Serious golfers spend thousands of hours at the driving range, putting green, and off course conditioning for a tournament. Discipline precedes the Masters.
Discipline focuses my mind, orders my activity and keeps me honest with myself. Discipline is my tether. An untethered writer cannot write. Life without discipline is like a sailboat without a rudder, bucked about by waves of hot and cold blowing wind, a wild skiff cannot stay the course.
Thank you for reading these words,
written by grace and the grit of a real human being. Debra Asis
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The assignment that brings me to the writing of these words is to unapologetically tell the story of how God nudges, cajoles, drop kicks and masters me to be the real human being that I am … becoming … following God’s Jeweled Breadcrumbs. My daily writing challenge for 2025 is to share the Breadcrumbs with you.
You may also visit me at https://www.debraasis.org/
