I love the ideas Ruth Ozeki conveys here (found in a recent newsletter from the Hedgebrook Writer’s Retreat, on Whidbey Island, Washington State):

“For me,” Ruth commented in an interview with the Guardian, “writing is a way of thinking…I’m a very impatient person, so writing and meditation allow me to slow down and watch my mind; they are containers that keep me in place, hold me still. Language is something that’s been passed down throughout human history. I love the Japanese notion of kotodama – the spirits in words.”

Now my struggle will be to resist Googling “kotodama” and to try to stay focused on my day job. <sigh>