5 Min read

2 Book recs: Joseph Nguyen and Ray Bradbury

On work and creating

Beyond suffering

Toolbox, ages 9 to 99

Bonus – children’s book and Tolstoy essay

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If I had infinite money, already traveled the world, had no fear, and didn’t receive any recognition for what I do, what would I do or what would I create? Joseph Nguyen

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Do you know what that is for you? What would YOU do or create?

This is not a frivolous question, but a question of what you would do with your precious time on this earth, the daily not-a-grind-but-a-love whatever it could be.

Perhaps it is the most important question you can ask yourself.

At dinner with friends, Wayne asked me why I write. We had been chatting to catch up and he wanted to know what was going on with my book. The average time to write a book for a debut author takes years. For me, the late-bloomer, I look to the end of the bell curve and find comfort in Min Jin Lee’s answer that it took 30 years for her to write Pachinko. Okay that works. I’ve been at it for seven years now.

Was I doing it for recognition or money, he asked, curious how I could be at it for so long.

I told him that I have a vision to provide a voice for the soldier and that vision begins with my own voice. I was not as concise and clear over di Parma pizza in a crowded restaurant Friday night, but I do my best here, dear reader, when I write the TreeHouseLetter.

What would I do if not for money, travel, fear, or recognition? I write.

I discovered the answer years ago, but it took me well into my thirties to have a sense of it, and into my forties for clarity. I like to walk and hike, too. I love to travel but the question in the epigraph–the opening quote–excludes travel. Clever man.

But travel does not fulfill me in the way that writing does.

This question and variations of it I have asked myself since I was a child: What do I do? What will I do? What is it I love and what is my purpose? I didn’t know anything about the soldier’s voice or writing as a craft. To discover my vision about the soldier’s voice has taken most of my time on earth, stumbling onto that in my fifties.

I do know when time stops for me, when I’m in a state of flow or non-thinking as Joseph Nguyen calls it, and I am in the zone. And that happens when I’m writing. Writers may call it the muse or divine inspiration. I’ve come across it in writer’s style guides and essays. The muse doesn’t always show up and connection to the divine is not guaranteed.

But, the muse won’t show up if I don’t show up.

In the corner of my white board in the TreeHouse I have three notes in black marker. When my mind gets in the way, I look at the board for what I already know deep down. But, I need the reminder.

• Work
• Relax
• Don’t think

For me that third one gets in the way more than I like. If I put my arse in the chair which is what work means for a writer, and I relax, and that can mean three slow breaths and deep breathing, then the final thing I do is let go of the effort. Let go of the thinking. Don’t think. Thank you Ray Bradbury* for this mantra.

If you’re writing for work or school or whatever, try it: Work. Relax. Don’t Think. If you’re creating of any kind, do the same: Work. Relax. Don’t Think. If you’re smarter than I am, you likely already know this.

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Do you know what you WANT to do? I will ask Wayne what that is for him. He loves to ride his motorcycle and his bicycle. I love to bike and hike and walk too. But then what . . .

When you are in the zone, going with the flow, and not-thinking, what is it that you’re doing?

Perhaps it is the most important question you can ask yourself.

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Stop thinking and end your problems. Lao Tzu

There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so. Shakespeare

I think, therefore I suffer. Joseph Nguyen

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BONUS: Spoiler Alert – Children’s book

This letter reminds me of Tolstoy’s famous parable. In the story, a King sought counsel for his Three Questions: when is the most important time, who are the most important people and what is the most important thing to do.  He received all sorts of advice and replies, then eventually trekked into the woods to visit a hermit. There’s an attempt on the King’s life and other plot points, but the King learns that the most important time is now, the most important person or people are those you are with, and the most important action is to do her or them good.

(Link to Project Gutenberg Files, Translation L. and A. Maude, full text of story)

*Here is a wonderful illustrated version by John J. Muth for children.

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FOOTNOTES

*Title and epigraph are from Joseph Nguyen’s international bestseller, Don’t Believe Everything You Think: Why Your Thinking is the Beginning and End of Suffering. which is self-published and has sold over 700,000 copies. I had come across it a couple times. I ordered a copy this week and it arrived in a day, then I read it in two short sittings. I will read it again because of the useful framework and guides included. Thinking is the root of suffering. Not thinking is the end of suffering. I like the quotes he uses in each chapter which reinforce his message. The Zen Stories and parables, and personal experience make his writing accessible, easy to read. It reminds me a bit of the Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, in that it speaks to a generation with its timely wisdom. By the way, thoughts still happen and thoughts are important. Thought, Nguyen explains, is different from thinking.

*Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing is where I came across his essay which highlights this same principle that Nguyen writes about. Don’t think. Bradbury’s essay is a writerly, craft-related reflection and I’ve taken away the mantra from him that has found its way onto the whiteboard, and into my process and craft as a writer.

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