« That old September feeling, left over from school days, of summer passing, vacation nearly done, obligations gathering, books and football in the air. »
Walter Stegner, Angle of Repose
“School Supplies” — these two words once adorned a sign in a local stationery store. Underneath them were listed all the tools a student needed for the year: notebooks, pencils, pens, index cards, calendars.
“School supplies” — what a rush of feelings these words gave me! I was almost back in school myself, picking out my notebooks, sharpening my pencils, catching a whiff of cedar as the shavings spiraled to the ground and a sharp point emerged. Who knows what magic was going to pour from that little yellow magic wand!
Although I didn’t always enjoy school, I cherished the tools of what would become my trade even back then—notebooks, pens, pencils, the silky feel of the paper beneath my palm, the blue lines marching smartly across the pristine pages and patiently — oh, so patiently!– waiting for me to fill them, ready, willing, and able to marshal whatever words poured out of me into order, however unruly they might be.
I have a card in my office with the twelve months of the year listed on it along with inspirational phrases I found somewhere next to each of them. September’s special phrase is this: Go deep into the heart of things, the mystery. »
As the rhythm of the world outside quickens, as the rush and tumble of daily life gathers energy and speed, let’s pause to find our own inner rhythm and to listen quietly to the slow, steady rhythm of time itself. Then let’s “Go deep into the heart of things, the mystery” — find the sparks of inspiration waiting for us and come back and tell the story of what we’ve found. Write on!
