Wednesday, 03 June 2009 15:52 Written by Lezlie Laws

The new website went live today, and so this is the first “official” blog entry of the sabbatical year.  The old site, and maybe the old Lezlie, has disappeared into cyberspace.  All those words, all those identities, all those proclamations about what I do in the world, gone.  It was kind of scary to let it go, like seeing an astronaut cut loose from the mother-ship during a botched space walk.  Free floating through dark space.  Going nowhere.  Serving no one.   

But as we know, letting go of the old often makes way for something new.   How often have I clung to an old version of myself only later to realize that letting go was the first step to a new, better version?  It’s just the way things work, isn’t it?  And so this fresh-looking, green site (constructed for me by the amazing Shawn Vincent), has appeared to help me grow.  It already feels like a very fertile place.  If I keep watering it, it will keep me focused and whip the words out of me.  

As some of you know, I began a fifteen-month sabbatical on Friday, May 1.  Fifteen months of white space.  Can you imagine?  And on Monday, June 1, I was shocked to realize that one-fifteenth of my time to write, read, reflect, re-construct was gone.  The blink of an eye and 30 days passed before I could even get my breath.  Sheesh!
I consoled myself by saying  I needed that time to get the office in order, organize the projects of the sabbatical year, and get the house projects completed.  (Oh, you recognize some of my incredibly clever ways to avoid the “real” work at hand, eh?)  Yes, this is an old pattern of mine, one I’m very well aware of by this point in my life.  I can create the most laudable reasons to keep myself busy and avoid the pressure of sitting in front of the computer.  But it’s OK.  I’m not going to start this sabbatical year by beating up on myself.  Just want to be aware of the old pattern and try to make peace with it.  In minutes, the electrician will be here to put in a new ceiling fan in the bedroom.  Tomorrow, landscapers will be here to make changed in the garden.  Saturday, Mike Miller and I will build a compost bin.  The tasks are endless, aren’t they?

So, before God and country, I begin this blog with a commitment to devote regular time every week to my projects.  Right now, I’m saying MWF 12- 4 p.m.  But don’t hold me to that.  I don’t want to throw myself into a highly structured schedule right of the bat.  But I know myself so well in some ways, and I know I will work better when I’ve committed time to my highest priority.  

So what are the projects?  Well, you can look at the menu bar above and get an idea of what they are.  
1.  The first is to simply chronicle my experiences and thoughts as I live free of the responsibilities of a job.  No meetings, no classes, no conferences with students, no letters of reference, no search committees, no grading, no faculty bickering, no interference whatsoever with the desire to living creatively, calmly, intensely.
2.  Twelve Doors is a book I’m writing (with Julie Dunsworth and Mary Ann de Stefano).  
3.  Lessons from the Mat is the next book (I’m ever hopeful), about how my yoga practice serves as a metaphor for life practice.
4.  The Writing section will serve as way to show current finished writing.
5.  Influencers will be an on-going reading list, with brief commentary.
6.  Journal will be random thoughts of a woman trying to live more honestly and freely than every before.  It’s a big job!

So there it is in a nutshell.  The time, the plan, the commitment are all in place.  There are no excuses.  Let’s rock and roll!