Welcome to Day 1, where I share some excerpts from my journey through The Joy of Writing Journal and invite you to share an excerpt or a response to the experience. Join the community—read and comment/share!
Sometimes writing for me is pure elation, but in today’s exercise I struggled with my inner critic. Here’s an excerpt from my journal:
I feel inside me the green possibilities
growing like vines,
everywhere these creative ideas.
But when I put pen to paper…
Blah
Blah
Blah
Like I’ve forgotten how
to write
to live
to conjure.
Where has my muse gone?
And where can I find her?
In the woods?
Under a rock?
Digging in the garden?
Peekaboo! Where are you hiding?
Your Turn
Share an excerpt from your Day 1 in The Joy of Writing Journal: Spark Your Creativity in 8 Minutes a Day. If you don’t have a copy, you can buy it here. I’d love to hear what the prompt inspired for you this morning, whether an insight, a joy, a challenge, resistance, an exploration, a poem or something else…Feel free to share anything about your response or an excerpt of what you wrote today.
Journaling writing is rough—unedited. So please just share without feeling a need to polish. We’re here for the journey, not a product. I hope you find that freeing!
Day 1 – Prompt – Accessing My Unique Inner Realm – an excerpt
I am a composite of all who came before me. A compilation of unconscious beliefs, held in my DNA from my ancestors, cultural/societal conditioning, family emotional behaviors and accumulated life experiences. Where is my uniqueness in this melting pot of ingredients? Humanity are great mimickers, parroting information from sources other than ourselves. We jump on the bandwagon for all sorts of causes to defend, latching onto trends by the latest consumer advertising. I remember my resistance to wearing jeans, during the hippie era in the 1970’s. Jeans made everyone seem to be wearing a uniform, when the hippie culture’s slogan was to break away from tradition sameness. How does a person discover their uniqueness within and leave the tribal mentality to seek a larger perspective of themselves and others?
I love these questions, Deborah. And the comparison of jeans as a uniform made me smile!
Love this, great food for thought, especially right now when the world is living in a state of perpetual fear.
I find myself struggling to trust myself and my own knowing more than ever.
It is interesting times, Seraina. I believe we are being guided more than ever to go within and find our deepest truth there.
I just ordered Lisa’s book because I was excited to meet her on the Zoom kickoff! This is what I am hoping for:
1. to create space and time for quiet reflection on a daily basis
2. to focus more on being than on doing
3. to dig more deeply into the experiences that are singularly my own
4. to create pathways for expanding gratitude as a guiding principle in my life
5. to improve the clarity of my thinking and understandings as I try to express unformed ideas in words
Welcome, Mary Ann!
Here are a couple of videos to watch while you wait for your book:
This one welcomes you to the journal.
This one explains why we will often make lists before choosing our journal topic.
I look forward to supporting you in your journaling journey!
Thanks for helping me grease the wheels of my creativity. I was happy to still be writing when a timer went off after eight minutes. I was like, “You’ve still got it!” It wasn’t anything brilliant, but it was me – splat on the pages!
Thanks for the fun Zoom kickoff too! Congrats on your book’s success. I love the QR code surprises. This will make October especially sweet! Candy corn for my muse!
I love that: “candy corn for my muse.” You definitely “still got it” Jen!
Sweet response, Jen! I love your go for it attitude!
Wondering how to get the daily notifications to support you in the October Journaling Adventure? Right here (and it’s free).