Last weekend attending the writer’s workshop felt like coming home to my people. The other writers shared my passion for writing and showed me, through honest sharing of their own lives, the struggles and breakthroughs inherent in the creative process. Laura Davis was an insightful teacher, generous with her knowledge and present each moment.
Laura encouraged us to sign off social media for the three retreat days in order to immerse ourselves more fully in the creative process. I was surprised at how difficult turning off my phone was and how not opening my Gmail program was agony. Whenever I had downtime, I sensed my right arm preparing to reach for my phone. It was a gut feeling that when denied left a feeling of emptiness – what am I going to do now?
When I began writing this post, I was startled when the word renunciation popped into my head, reminding me of Dharma talks I’ve listened to. Curious, I yanked out books on Buddhism, searching indexes for renunciation.
In the Buddhist world, renunciation doesn’t mean simply disengaging from the ego’s drive to have what it wants. It’s more than that. In signing off social media, my ego rebelled because it wanted to fill every moment with entertainment. One author compared the ego to a puppy who only wants to play and garner attention. Checking Instagram is one way I play and get attention.
Thinking about the deprivation, my ego sulked and got argumentative. What’s the harm in Instagram it asked. Puppies are adorable! I fondly remembered Walter, Ann and Tom’s new puppy.
I decided to explore the idea behind giving up social media for three days – in other words, what was the purpose of this renunciation?
A sentence in one of the Buddhist texts proposed renunciation enhances rather than diminishes life. I remembered the satisfaction I felt after writing eleven handwritten pages on the first day. I recalled the thrill of having a new idea pop into my brain – one so obvious that I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before.
In the Buddhist world, one practices renunciation in order to be on the spiritual path. In the artist or writer’s world, the practice of renunciation is to tap into the creative process.
Is there something you give up in service of a larger purpose?
