This morning after Sam got on the school bus I randomly picked The Right
to Write by Julia Cameron off the shelf. The first sentence I read stated,
" 'I'm afraid' is always what stands between us and the page."
Just last night I had a heart to heart conversation with a friend about fear: I wondered what was stopping me on a project. “It must be fear,” I said, but fear of what?”
Then Julia Cameron reminds me that fear stands between me and the page. Fear also stands between you and the page.
What would it be like to cut out the fear of simply showing up at the page now?
Let's each and all collectively choose to stay the course, even if that familiar friend fear pops up and tries to grab our pencils out of our hand or push our fingers from the keyboard.
You may grab onto our topic for writing and life today: Staying the Course. Sometimes during a wild and wooly weekend, getting back to the page feels like a monumental task. The thought of lifting my pencil, even lifting my fingers now to the keyboard feels so heavy. Spring break did it to me, too. It robbed me of my daily routines – or was it, I allowed the fear of losing my daily routines get in the way of my writing course.
One of my poet friends commented on my blog while I was away yesterday:
"I miss your poetry. Please join us today, our topic is love and romance." I scowled and quickly jotted a first draft:
She asked me to write of love and romance
and all I can think of is other poet's lines:
Gibran said, "Work is love made visible."
and Browning croons, "“Grow old with me,
the best is yet to be.” and I growl,
I pace, I grumble and pout and stammer
Mary Oliver taps on my shoulder, looks
me in the eye and soulfully states:
"“I have been in love more times than one,
thank the Lord."
I quote Pat Benatar lyrics,
"Love is a battlefield" and shout
J. Geils, "Love stinks" and my own,
"Love doesn't read my poetry
anyway so why bother, really?"
My socks are wet
I'm still wearing my jammies
and I am expected to
be inspiring to many in
just 30 minutes
What does love have to say about that?
I feel a sense of smiling between
my shoulder blades
I take a gulp of now cold coffee
I choose to stop grousing and
start writing
because more than once
my love has been found
first there, between and
among the words
even becoming
the love, itself
I may not know love like
Robert and Elizabeth
or Rumi and Shams or
Mary and Molly or
those tricky kids
Romeo and Juliet AND
I do have word-love
I'll write to that...
Will you write to word-love?
To carry you through the weekend, I created some prompts for you. Take a moment to read through them now. Copy them into a document or write them in your notebook. Let the prompts settle into a cozy place in your subconscious, working quietly as you go about your day.
Later, come back and write from one (or more of the prompts) free flow writing style. Write for ten minutes and then stop. Take a breath and walk away. Go about your everyday business. Come back later or tomorrow scoop another and write until you have "written it all out.”
If you continue this process over the weekend, You will deepen both your awareness and your devotion to writing and word-love. I am convinced of it.
Prompts:
Today I will choose to stay the course because...
If I told the truth about staying the course so that I could fulfill my writing
dreams, I would say...
One way I will stay the course with my writing today is...
I will speak and write what is rumbling under my skin: I am scared when I think of staying the course and even though I don't want to say it, I will say...
I will tenaciously, stubbornly, passionately stay the course by doing....
I devote myself to staying the course with my writing and one way I will show that devotion to the world looks like.....(and then write from your other senses, too. Smells like, sounds like, tastes like, feels like…)
Can you feel the sense of smiling and joy right there, between your shoulder blades? Maybe you don't yet, but stay the course with your writing and my bet is soon you will be smiling with your entire being.
Stay on your writing course simply because through it, you gain confidence. Through confidence, your passion builds. Through word-love, the world is a better place.
This post is Number 5 of 30 and was inspired by the Ultimate Blog
Challenge. Throughout the month I will be posting writing and creativity tips
especially to make your writing (and your writing experience!) better.
I'm so glad you are here!
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