Surgery as a Meditation

June 30, 2018

Today I’m working through a number of thoughts for after I recover from surgery. “I’m using the operation as a bell of mindfulness and a jumping-off place for new things – several new things. This is a huge turning point.

I’ve not kept house well for a long time. It’s holding me back from being creative and from thinking positively about myself. I will be changing when I get home. I won’t be able to lift over 5 pounds but will get help to make the apartment more organized. I’m glad to have someone I feel good about helping me.

I am both a writer and an artist. I see no chance of dropping either one of these endeavors from my life. In fact, they’re intertwined. I’ll be making a much more consistent effort to do daily work when I get home. Even before I return to my place, I have a travel watercolor set, good pencils, and Sakura Microns in a bag to go with me to the hospital. If I must sit in a chair, which they should have me doing almost immediately, I can use the small sketchpad I am taking (4” x 4”) to work on small pieces as I feel like it. I can also plan out some calligraphy pieces in a 5" by 8" notebook. Artwork is a meditation. It should help me get well sooner and lift my frame of mind.

Many years ago, my college art teacher gave me a copy of Paul Klee’s Pedagogical Sketchbook. I’d forgotten about it until I ran across Klee’s quote today: “A line is a dot that went for a walk.” Even a line has humble beginnings. I am going to seek out this book among my collection and flip through it. I also got a copy of Paul Antonio’s new workbook today, Copperplate Script, a Yin and Yang Approach published by Speedball. I’m going to do some roaming through it too when I get home.

The writer in me is going through a metamorphosis as well. I’m beginning to learn more about the type of writing that I want to do from now on, not what others think I should do. More on this later as I run these idea through my mind.

I'm spite of the fact that I will be in the hospital for several days, I intend to use meditation and creativity to get me through the pain.

May you be well.