{"id":948,"date":"2013-01-16T21:37:54","date_gmt":"2013-01-17T04:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyfieldnotes.com\/?p=948"},"modified":"2013-01-17T09:42:37","modified_gmt":"2013-01-17T16:42:37","slug":"on-the-beginning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyfieldnotes.com\/?p=948","title":{"rendered":"On the Beginning"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The day begins with a jet-lagged baby, awake and ready to play at 4am. There is breakfast while it\u2019s still dark out, and skyping with the abuelos in Spain. Then Basil goes down for a nap as the sun rises, setting the windows across the valley aglow, and my day begins anew with a shower, coffee, writing.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been thinking a lot about beginnings. When it comes to writing, or life changes, or even small everyday tasks like cleaning, we often say \u2018beginning is the hardest part\u2019. For me beginning can feel as if I were climbing a set of stairs and the first step were 3 times higher than the rest, rising like a mountain before me.<\/p>\n

Maybe this is a creative inheritance from my mother, an artisan who has had her own business for nearly 30 years. \u201cI\u2019ve been writing about beginnings\u201d I say when she calls, \u201cwhat does beginning feel like to you?\u201d. \u201cFrom experience, I know that to me beginning is more of a challenge than doing it\u201d she replies. \u201cI notice it even when I get in the water to swim, or start my yoga class. But once I\u2019m going, it\u2019s easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where does the energy to begin come from? Austin Kleon<\/a>, in his new book on creativity Steal Like an Artist<\/em>, suggests it\u2019s about being inspired:<\/p>\n

\u201c[C]hew on one thinker \u2013 writer, artist, activist, role model \u2013 you really love. Study everything there is to know about that thinker. Then find three people that thinker loved, and find out everything about them. Repeat this as many times as you can. Climb up the tree as far as you can go. Once you build your tree, it\u2019s time to start your own branch.\u201d<\/p>\n

I agree that inspiration is important, especially when the beginning involves tapping creativity. But I\u2019ve also been thinking how routine, the momentum of doing something every day, can make it easier to begin. When I work on my thesis every day, sitting down and working on it is easier than when I let a week go by without touching it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So of course, I\u2019m wondering what beginnings are like for you. Which is harder, starting or finishing?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The day begins with a jet-lagged baby, awake and ready to play at 4am. There is breakfast while it\u2019s still dark out, and skyping with the abuelos in Spain. Then Basil goes down for a nap as the sun rises, setting the windows across the valley aglow, and my day begins anew with a shower, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,139,21],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfieldnotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfieldnotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfieldnotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfieldnotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfieldnotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=948"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfieldnotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":957,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfieldnotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948\/revisions\/957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfieldnotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfieldnotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfieldnotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}