Start Write Now: Writing History

Nourishing the Soul is a blog dedicated to nourishment - encouraging self nurture and asking some provocative questions.  Start Write Now is a series of writing exercises I thought might be good for me.

I've been an avid reader for much of my life, especially as a child.  And as a reader, I put writers on a pedestal where I felt I had no place.

I have always felt something was not quite the way it's supposed to be with my life, especially my career.  And I turned to all the self-help books I could get my hands on. (In retrospect, I don't advise this course of action).  One of the books was Julie Cameron's The Artist's Way.  I didn't get very far into the book - but I did get to the part about morning pages.  I decided to try the exercise - get up and before doing anything else, write until 3 pages have been filled.

I didn't do the exercise exactly as prescribed:  I made myself coffee.  I lit candles, burned incense and played soft music in the background.  And I wrote.  Somedays the writing was non-stop, I couldn't keep up with the thoughts tumbling out.  Other days, I'd write things like "I don't have anything to say." or "I'm sleepy.'

But the ritual resonated and I found myself not dreading waking up each day. Instead, I looked forward to the centering exercise.  And I credit the exercise with helping make me healthy again.  And now, as soon as I think of the ritual, I long for it.  Sometimes I let the longing make me ill.  Other times I just breathe through it and remember the centered feeling and let that feeling take over.

I've been thinking of this ritual quite a bit lately and I'm slowly making space in my life for it.  There's always time to take care of yourself - and for me, the best way to do that is by writing.