summer's lease

I noticed today that it is August 15th and I realized I've not gone to many places this summer, other than bellydance venues.

I've done so little in terms of going out and doing stuff due to working on the book. It has been a commitment not unlike a marriage to a hermit, requiring me to stay at home. I am hoping that when I get my laptop later this summer (just a basic Mac--I need nothing more than Word, maybe some simple PowerPoint capability for the occasional conference, and wireless capability so I can waste time in coffeehouses, pretending to work). Hopefully the editing part can get easier. I do not generally write on a computer--all of the book has been written by hand, using a fountain pen, no less. I came to adulthood in the era of computer paper that was striped green and white, with perforations on each side, and never really got the hang of composing on a computer (though obviously I do it here).

So, staying home with my book has been the norm. I hope as the summer winds down, I will at least have it ready to send off--I realize that, until the book is printed, it may have more incarnations, and this actually reassures me.

I bought Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags yesterday and hung them on a giant rosebush (my Elena rose, which has beautiful, full white blooms). I've never had them before.
At first, I wanted to keep them nice and shielded from the sun, but realized that their purpose is to not only send prayers into the wind, but also to act as a reminder of impermanence. My yoga teacher always says, "Things come and go," and they do, even the writing of a book. So I put my flags out where the sun will hit them, and get back to sending my own words into the universe. Writing is such an act of faith--who knows ultimately where the journey leads? Little by little, the path is revealed and the next step made known.