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  Wake Up and Write Writer's Retreat Workshop

dialogue with doc

Buddhist Boot Camp to Blog

7/5/2016

 
PictureThe moon during an early morning drive on Tassajara Road
This is my first post on my first blog. Where have I been to only be joining this aspect of social media now? Well, since 2000 much of my time has been spent in a Zen Buddhist community - some in San Francisco, some in Carmel Valley - and in both places, with limited access to the internet and time.

At City Center in San Francisco we got up late – the wake-up bell didn’t ring until 4:50 am, and you had to be in the zendo in less than 30 minutes. That was leisurely. At Tassajara, the monastery in Carmel Valley, during the fall and winter practice periods the wake-up bell was at 3:40 am, and zazen started at 4:20, though you had to be in your seat about 10 minutes earlier than that.

I spent most of the years 2000-2015 on that schedule, with a 3-year side trip to Naropa University in Boulder, CO for a master’s program, and two years in Pittsburgh, PA with my dad while my mother was dying from Alzheimer’s. So I spent 10 of 15 years in what you might call Buddhist boot camp, with not a lot of time for writing, internet, or technology.

I missed the whole unveiling of Facebook – 2004 was the year I went to Tassajara, which is in the Ventana Wilderness. It’s at the end of a 14-mile dirt road that goes from 1500 feet above sea level up to about 5000 on the ridge and back down to about 1500 again. The part from the ridge down into Tassajara drops 3500 feet in 4 miles – no guardrails, mostly one lane, with turnouts to pass. Over the years I drove that dirt road hundreds of times, and that final drop into the valley that is Tassajara literally drops out of one world and into a whole other world, one without social media.

In the 10 years at San Francisco Zen Center I worked at City Center and Tassajara in the kitchen, various offices, cabin crew, the women’s bathhouse, the shop, the library, drove the “stage” for guest season, and lived and worked at Jamesburg (the support/staging area for Tassajara). Although I did, at times, use a computer for my work, I never accessed any kind of social media, though I heard other people talk about it. The other 5 years at Naropa and with my dad, I had too much occupying my time and my mind to focus on anything else.

I’ve been out in the world again for a year and five months, and now that I’m starting this writing workshop, it’s time. I’m taking the plunge, and joining the blogging world in this way. I would imagine I’ll make some mistakes, and I expect I’ll learn a great deal in the process.

What I’ve discovered already is that neither I nor this workshop will have a presence on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media, unless someone else writes about us. There was a less than 24-hour period during which I created a Facebook account, set up a page for the workshop, and friended some people. After a brief break for dinner, I logged back on to discover dozens of posts on my personal page, which I’d intended never to use, and that no one had found my workshop page, which was the point of the whole exercise.

That was fixable and I knew it. What wasn’t fixable was how I felt. It literally made me feel sick to the results of my efforts – I didn’t see any way that I could manage Facebook plus other social media, continue with my full time job, and continue to write. It felt invasive, overwhelming, and it didn’t feel as if that had anything to do with what I was trying to share through the workshop.

Not wanting to overreact, I logged off and did some dishes. Then I sat and listened to Keith Jarrett’s Köln Concert. Suddenly I was sitting in front of the fireplace thirty years ago in my old Shadyside apartment, a glass of Cabernet in my hand and deep in conversation with a friend. No one I knew even owned a computer at that time.
Do I wish I could go back in time to those days? No way. I learned a great deal in the years since then for which I am grateful, including the wonder of computers and the internet. What came up as I listened to the music was the importance of connection. I want to connect with people through the workshop. I want to share what I’ve learned from Gary Provost and Natalie Goldberg and many of the other amazing writers and teachers I’ve known over the years.

There’s no denying the reach of Facebook and the other social media, and many people use it to great effect. Perhaps if I were trying to get hundreds or thousands to my workshops, that would make it more compelling. I’m not. I have space for 25 people at the November workshop, assuming everyone gets her or his own room. And I can make it work with fewer than 25, but that’s my max.


Picture
Unbridled's Song, one of my favorite racehorses, taken at Taylor Made Farms in Lexington, Kentucky, a few years before his death.
I can’t say I’ll never return to try Facebook or Twitter or some form of social media again. Never say never. It won’t be anytime soon; that’s all I can say with certainty.

I love the idea of a blog, engaging with people who are interested in the workshop or in what I write about, which may not always be about writing. In future blogs I feel fairly certain you’ll read about horse racing, Julia Morgan, Monterey Bay, the homeless, and maybe even the Pittsburgh Steelers. And of course there will be blogs on books I’ve read, writers who’ve inspired me, and other writing-related items. The point is, this feels right to me. And sometimes you have to trust your gut (yes, that is indeed a reference from NCIS, which may or may not make an appearance here later).

Whatever happens, I intend to enjoy the ride. Thanks for joining me on this maiden voyage.

Take care,

Doc

What is your experience with blogging and/or social media? Does it support your writing? Distract you from it? Is it neutral?


Karen Reisdorf
7/5/2016 06:59:17 am

Great start, Carol! Looking forward to more!

Carol Dougherty link
7/5/2016 08:48:37 am

Thanks Mic, I appreciate it!

Adam Aguirre
9/9/2016 01:04:33 am

I'm so blessed to have you as a mentor, spiritual guide, and most importantly a friend. Thanks Doc for everything you do to make this world a better place.

Carol Dougherty link
9/9/2016 08:56:01 am

Thanks, Adam. I'm blessed to have you as a friend too!

Kevin Dougherty
7/5/2016 07:26:02 am

Enjoyed reading #1. Keep it up!

Carol Dougherty link
7/5/2016 08:50:24 am

Thanks Kev, I enjoyed writing it.

Lance and Gail Stockwell
7/5/2016 09:37:03 am

Enjoyed reading your first blog post, Doc. looking forward to all that will follow, too.

Carol Dougherty link
7/5/2016 01:34:12 pm

Thanks, Lance and Gail, for your amazing support.

Jas
7/5/2016 10:27:46 am

Nicely done. Great read.

Carol Dougherty link
7/5/2016 01:34:50 pm

Thanks Jason. Slowly but surely...

Aunt H
7/5/2016 12:46:37 pm

Loved it, Carol. Keep it up - will enjoy knowing what is going on in your life.

Carol Dougherty link
7/5/2016 01:36:07 pm

Thanks Aunt Helen. Tell the gang howdy for me.

Barbara Clarke link
7/5/2016 01:09:20 pm

Can't wait to read the West Wing blog. I've been watching them again.

Carol Dougherty link
7/5/2016 01:37:02 pm

Yep, I'm on the last few episodes of Season 3 for about the 10th time. There's always something new...

Joni Hahn link
7/5/2016 04:43:10 pm

Great post, Carol! Social media is very invasive.I wish we didn't have to use it as much as we do to promote our books. :) Good luck! I know your blog will see great success. :)

Carol Dougherty link
7/5/2016 08:42:39 pm

Thanks Joni, I do enjoy the blog part of social media.

Mako
7/5/2016 05:28:19 pm

Great first post Carol! As for myself, I have a terrible time writing as for me it is like pulling teeth! But I was able to do it on the www.cloudmountains.com travel blog, strangely....

Carol Dougherty link
7/5/2016 08:44:50 pm

Thanks Mako. I would imagine there's always something new to share on the road...

Lisa Cron link
7/6/2016 06:13:39 am

This is fabulous, Carol! You're reminding me to dip into the West Wing (as of this writing I've never seen a minute of it). And as for social media -- I have a definite love/hate relationship with it. I kinda wish that when I wake up in the morning (or, the near-morning, when it's still a bit dark outside) the first thing I reach for wasn't my phone. I know, I know, I don't have to. But . . . I do anyway. Hmmm. Meanwhile, can't wait to read more of your posts (yes, on my phone ; -).

Carol Dougherty link
7/6/2016 09:00:01 am

Thanks, Lisa. I'll admit, I do check my email first thing every day, pretty much the way I used to check my mailbox daily when people still wrote letters. You are in for an incredible treat with West Wing - it is an extraordinary gift. Writing, performances, everything meshes to create magic. In seven seasons, some missteps occur, but precious few from my perspective.

Rick Bylina link
7/6/2016 12:28:41 pm

Welcome aboard and anchors aweigh. As a decade-long blogger, it can be a huge drain on your writing time. I've had to periodically, like most bloggers, take a break. However, a social media presence is a must for most of us splashing in the great ocean of writers and yelling, "Help me," "Save me," "Can't you see, me," "Marco," without ever hearing, "Polo." If you write non-fiction, it's part of your "platform"! Ugh! If you write fiction, it's so that the family and friends can find you. Once you get past the family and friends circle, you can back-off, do it monthly, or semi-annually, and get everyone excited about your new book, like, "Kill All Cats". Still it can be a great place to riff new ideas with your writing equivalents of B.B. King or Eric Clapton or [insert your favorite] and letting the sour notes (bad ideas) bounce around until the magic strikes and you have something magical to write about...and then, your blog posts can be monthly also.

"Write on! Write on!! Brothers and sisters, amen. Write on!!!

Carol Dougherty link
7/6/2016 03:11:17 pm

Thanks Rick! Sounds like you've done a great job of figuring out the nuances. It should be interesting to see how it all plays out...

Shea
7/6/2016 02:51:09 pm

Thanks Carol. You are amazing and have started a great new path for expression. I look forward to reading further.

Carol Dougherty link
7/6/2016 03:13:50 pm

Thanks Shea! Sorry we ended up missing each other that last morning at Oblate - can't say I blame you for missing the early part of breakfast, as it was more than a little noisy.

Christine de Guzman
7/13/2016 10:59:14 am

Hi Lady! Thanks for sharing your new venture with me :) I had two blogs for a time, one about practice and parenting, the other about practice and fitness. The structure of a weekly blog felt supportive with my writing, but the changing nature of parenting has not. So after about a year (?), I let it go. Maybe I'll go back when I feel more spaciousness in my schedule.
Good luck with this! Love you!

Carol Dougherty link
7/13/2016 12:15:58 pm

Thanks, Christine! It will be interesting to see how it feels to do this every week. I've always enjoyed this kind of personal essay, so we'll see...


Comments are closed.

    Carol (Doc) Dougherty

    An avid reader, writer, and student, with a penchant for horse racing, Shakespeare, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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