On writing…
I have neglected my daily writing practice over the last few weeks (almost a month). Probably due to the arrival of a new pup. He’s a rescue greyhound mix from Ensenada, Mexico. This boy has occupied all our attention (and frustration!). Sleep has also been slammed - we forgot what raising a puppy is all about - ha. At the same time he has shown us that love for (and from) another animal is possible again, which has helped us heal from losing our Monty girl in April. We were fearful that we would always compare a new pup to the perfection of Monty. Not the case. At all.
While I have tried to keep up with jotting down a few thoughts on a daily basis, it was only today that I finally sat down to pick up my daily writing practice - which for me, has a specific structure: I ask myself four specific questions, create a list of things that I’m grateful for (clients and CFI are always on it!), and then free write anything that’s on my mind - which is often filled with dreams - both night time dreams and dreams for the future. Or maybe it’s just a list of things I want to do for the day. Or things that have gone well. Or all of the above.
Whoa, what a difference that simple action has already made for me today. For the last few months I have been noticing that depression wants to suck me up. It wants me to isolate (knowing that’s the worst thing for me), but I didn’t make the connection between depression and the lack and depth of writing until this morning…and that connection was made in my writing. Today I discovered a few insights about what the depression might be about and what I can do about it. Huh.
What stops you from going on an inner journey to explore what you’re feeling, thinking, and how you’re showing up in the world? What’s at risk? What might you gain? A lot of my clients face resistance to a daily writing practice, as at some point in their story - usually after their journals landed in the hands of someone else, exposing them and using their words against them - my clients stopped writing because it wasn’t safe (which is the exact opposite of what the experience is about). I have had the same experience, which culled any efforts to write while in my first marriage - it sucked. I get it.
Today, I’m a huge proponent of writing every morning after reading Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way. I have been writing morning pages daily since 2012. I keep a separate Word file for my morning pages for each year (you can always password protect your files if you find nervousness showing up). This year, I’m up to 256 single spaced typed pages - this might be a record year for me, in more ways than one.
What might you shift in your world by letting that inner voice out onto the page?
Reach out if you want support.
XO
Erin