The Universe Speaks to Me Through Peloton

…among other channels, of course, but this example afforded the catchiest title. 

So I was in the middle of a 20 minute bodyweight core workout taught by my fave instructor Robin Arzon, when out of the blue, she asked: 

“Are you working on something big? Something big that’s important to you?”

Just then, I had been spacing out, fretting about the book project I’ve been futzing around with for over a year now. I had been pondering how to get it kickstarted, how to move it along faster, how to get it DONE. 

I’ve tried organizing writer’s groups, but I’ve failed in keeping them organized. Zooms get canceled for all sorts of good reasons (which is inevitable) and then never get rescheduled (which is on me). I’ve tried instituting a regular writing schedule, which is a joke because I’ve never been able to stick to a regular anything schedule my whole life. Most of my blogs are written at random, on the fly, in bits and pieces. Household chores, dog walking, workouts: same. How could my book project be any different? 

These are some of the myriad mental barriers to the book I’d been examining in my head when my muscular medium asked her random question. I’m pretty sure we were in the middle of crunches, and I wanted to sit up and respond: Why yes, Robin, as a matter of fact, I am working on a big project that’s important to me. Do go on. 

Right on cue, she said: 

“Put a deadline on it. You know why? Because a dream without a deadline is a fantasy.” 

I just about keeled over laughing. Perfect inspiration! A deadline, of course! Isn’t that how most things get done– because they have to? An alarm rings: pencils down. The clock hits the hour: the submission portal is closed. The due date comes: the editor will cite your contractual obligations. 

Her suggestion was also perfectly and brutally frank. 

A dream without a deadline is a fantasy. 

Basically, by not establishing and respecting a timeline, I’ve been treating my big ideas like bullshit. 

So now I’m working out deadlines for the complete outline and the rough draft of book #1.

Now, this is not the first time that I’ve gotten the exact right inspiration at the exact right moment through Peloton. Nor the second time. Nor the third… Not that I really think they’re reading my mind. It’s more like the old gypsy fortune-teller trick: they know their target audience really well and throw stuff out there that, statistically speaking, is likely to resonate. I get it. 

But it doesn’t really matter. After all, gypsy fortune tellers, 1-900 psychics, and online mediums may all be charlatans who possess no special connection to The Universe, The Other Side, or The Force, but if they can help you connect with yourself and realize your inner truth, then they may as well. (And if that statement resonates with you, please know that I’m paraphrasing Higgins from Ted Lasso, Season 3, Episode 5, “Signs”.) 

So, it’s not about Peloton (clickbait title notwithstanding). The signs definitely do not need to be coming from your favorite aphorism-pitching fitness instructor. I think what it’s more about is being open to the signs you need when you need them, wherever they may come from.

Being open to the signs is not a common thing. One must be in growth mode, meaning seeking more from life, and from oneself. You’re not going to see anything unless you’re looking, or hear anything unless you’re listening, after all. 

As I move forward with what I hope will be the first of many real, full-length book projects, I’m thinking a lot about the creative process. Not just being open to inspiration when it’s offered, but discovering the source of inspiration and learning how to tap into it. What writers refer to as The Muse, or Creative Energy, or even “the grand universe of stories floating in ether, there, available to everyone”. (That last one is author Abraham Verghese, as written in the forward for the 2003/2004 Yale Department of Internal Medicine Writer’s Workshop compilation that I hold dear.) 

More on the creative process to come. In the meantime, I have work to do.