Up: [[Sharing]] Created: 2020-08-23 Pat and I talked about [[Calling]] this morning. She thinks I need to start a book. She says I can give it a set amount of time, say a month, and reassess at the end of that time whether I want to continue. She says if I start turning it into 17 hours days, which we both doubt would happen, I can stop. I heard her, understand exactly what she’s suggesting … and know in my gut that it is not the right step for me. I’ve been reading Pat B. Allen’s book, *Art is a Spiritual Path*, this afternoon and I think I’ve figured out what’s really holding me back from starting a book. Writing for publication has never, for me, been about taking dictation from the muse, writing from my heart, or allowing free and unfettered original thought. Instead, it has been about plans, outlines and deadlines; about teacher needs and research; knowledge rather than wisdom, and expertise borne of decades of driven laser-focused activity. I want the former and don't know how to get it.