The delicacy of the mahogany writing desk. Petite. Leather inlay surface. Slender wood turned legs. Just right for Ruth.  She sat back straight in her neat smoothed dress. Her eyes twinkled in greeting.

“I need help,” I said. She glanced toward the strait backed chair next to the desk. I sat. “I am discouraged. Exhausted. Defeated. Weak. Worried.  In pain. All of it in a jumbled pile in my mind. Too much.” She smiled her little smile as she looked into my eyes.

“It does sound like too much,” she agreed.  “It weighs like an anchor on your soul leaving you feeling stuck. You need relief.”  She understood as always.  “Maybe it is time to RESET yourself. You are overloaded with tough stuff.”

“Let’s have tea and sit in the big cozy chairs, “she suggested.

As we sipped our tea and munched on lemon cookies with buttercream frosting, she explained the process.

The first and most important RESET step is the Purge. The purpose is to empty the mind of all concern. Meditation can be too hard at this advanced stage. So let’s start with a commitment to a concentrated distraction. The distraction is a solo adventure. Let’s try for two days.

Immerse yourself completely. Two solid days working on your novel, next essay, researching, writing nothing else. It needs to be engaging. Actively grabbing your mind. Lemonade. Organic potato chips. Must be satisfying and must take you heart and soul to another place.

The most important part is to escape. To immerse yourself in the magic of concentrated effort, focus.

I can do this.

So I am doing this. I am enjoying my immersion. I love to write and I have my own permission to do just that. It is working. I am distracted.

“Work on this step and when and when you are ready, come back and we will work on the next step. You need to focus completely on this step” Ruth said with a smile of encouragement as I left the Bookstore.

I am so lucky that Ruth is my friend.