“…if you dump drama into my life, I will put it and you onto the page.”I take out my notebook and I write “longhand” as she suggests. Since:
“Any mood is a good writing mood. The trick is to simply enter whatever mood like a room and sit down and write from there.”I write about the drama and the upheaval it brings. I consider how wonderful it would be to just leave it on the page. Tightly grasping the pencil I let the words flow from my fingers to the page.
A prayer begins to weave its way into the flow. With each word written I pour out my heart. The disappointment, the frustration, is released to the lines on the page. The grip on the pencil begins to ease as through the words I am liberated.
Truly I find Ms. Cameron is correct when she quotes a friend:
“Once I started writing, I started to lighten up. It gave me a way to move through my feelings.”I wonder if King David wrote his Psalms out longhand? He begins in distress…
“Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.”He ends in peace…
“I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:1,8I put down the pencil and close the notebook. The sun has peeked out from behind the clouds. I notice the birds singing. I close my eyes and smell the heavy scent of clover. I leave the drama on the page. With my mood altered I think we will go have a picnic today.
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Part of a HighCallingBlogs book club reading.
Related posts:
HCB - Invite the Muse to Tea
L.L.’s Julia Cameron Meets ProBlogger
Glynn’s The Poetry that Surrounds Us
Cassandra’s Living With My Writer
Nancy "Thoughts and Dreams."
Monica’s The Sincerity of Pretense
Cassandra’s Word Play
Lyla's Getting My Foot in the Iron Door
3 comments:
Nancy, I love this. Taking to the page when life gets messy helps me, and I really appreciated what Cameron had to say about the clarity that comes.
And how you've taken the idea of putting the drama on the page. I struggled with her discussion of drama, but I think you've found a way to not detach from the lives of those creating the drama but to use the writing to clarify so you could re-engage with them.
With a picnic no less. Good job.
What a special post, Nancy. Verse 8 of Psalm 41 has been a favorite verse of mine for a long time now. I find the same wonderful therapy when I write. I think it is all about just getting it "out there" on paper instead of it being bottled up inside of me that alters my mood. Thanks so much for sharing about this today.
And, I meant to tell you when I was by yesterday that I love your new blog look! The background is so peaceful!
You know what stands out to me here, Nancy? The writing leads you to prayer. I find that true for me many times as well. We have already sort of discussed how writing itself can be a kind of prayer. I think this process you describe clarifies that a bit.
And just look at you. Making lemonade out of those lemons. So beautiful, your life!
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