I found things difficult to begin with. I definitely wasn't happy with the haiku I was writing during the first week of
NaHaiWriMo.
Why?
It was just so un-inspiring.
Having been excited to return to haiku after the
rejuvenating effects of the
river of stones challenge, my high was dulled quickly as I struggled with a form I've worked (or should that be 'played') with for over four years.
I needed a kick up the butt!
I got it at the beginning of week two in the form of a spontaneous gift from my beloved...
Haiku Mind: 108 Poems to Cultivate Awareness & Open Your Heart by
Patricia Donegan.
It was just what I needed: the book as well as the surprise :)
It leads on perfectly from where my small stone writing left off: bringing my awareness to the outside world and then writing about it as a spiritual practice.
Suddenly my haiku has risen to a new level, and this is exciting!
I'm savouring the book: reading one poem and commentary a day as a meditation (or type of prompt) to set me on a path of awareness and appreciation for nature and how I interact with it, and how I might capture those moments in haiku form.
I highly recommend
Haiku Mind. You can read more about it
here.
