stop thinking, start feeling, i keep hearing yuki's voice when i'm trying to force it, trying to make the clay do something it doesn't want to do, i can feel the tension in my shoulders and the way my breath hitches and the clay wobbles more and more, centering isn't about strength it's about listening, it's about meeting the clay where it is and guiding it gently, not forcing it into submission, but it’s hard to remember that sometimes, hard to let go of the idea of what it should be and just feel what it IS, and when i do i can feel the clay soften under my hands, giving way, surrendering, and then i can breathe again and the wheel hums a steady song and the dust motes dance in the light from the one good window and everything is okay, for a moment anyway, until i start thinking again.