1. The golden writing rule: Buh bye email (facebook, skype, distractions)! This might be a no-brainer for many of you, but still worth stating. There were times when I had to buckle down and apply my disciplinary powers to stay off of these things for the full hour of writing.
2. Mac or PC? Neither! For this challenge, I opted to go 100% paper and pen, the only exception being when I was writing blog content. My computer gets more than enough of my love and attention during the other 23 hours of the day. Pen and paper also feel more organic and down to earth and tends to generate a different type of creativity. By way of writing on paper, I finally wrote on the very last page of a journal I’d been writing in off and on since 2007 (and who knows how many pens I went through)!
3. Music is essential for my writing process; in fact, I rarely write in silence. Some of the featured artists on my writing playlist include: Kid Cudi, a Tribe Called Quest, Explosions in the Sky, Blind Pilot, SOJA, Ben Harper, even Rage Against the Machine depending on the “zone” I’m in. Incense and a glass of wine, tea or coffee never hurts either. :)
4. Reading is also essential to my writing process and I don’t do it enough. I’m thinking of doing a 30-day challenge in which I read for an hour each day…some of my latest literary inspirations include Isabel Allende, Pema Chodron and Dostoyevsky.
5. I usually got stuck when I had 20 minutes of my hour remaining…
6. …And when I got stuck, I often reverted to making lists of everything I am thankful for. I kind of felt like a kid again when you’re asked to say prayer at the Thanksgiving table and your prayer turns into 10 full minutes of giving thanks for everything that pops into your brain, from your new pajamas to the tablecloth. Here are some of the “thanks” that came out on August 26: “I am thankful for today, thankful for the people that have crossed my path, and joined me graciously in my walk. Thankful for my health and strong legs and lungs that are going to take me on a run in little while. Thankful for Colombia and it’s people. Thankful for this shelter and more than enough food to eat. Thankful for the education that has enabled me to write and think and learn and grow and communicate. Thankful for my citizenship and my country which, in spite of its flaws, arrogance and mistakes, has nonetheless provided my family and I freedom and opportunity and, when all is said and done, a very good life.” Other times, I would simply make a list of things I really like about myself. Here are some of those things I liked about myself on August 21: “my scars, my ability to speed read, my love for animals and nature, my strong will and spirit, my comfortability with myself and with being alone, being left-handed, my handwriting, my eye color, the trust and love I’ve developed for my soul.” Speaking of which, both of these list exercises have never failed to yield positive results within my soul – I suggest you give it a try! :)
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| Welcoming in another year of life with the Rotary Club - Bogota, Occidente |
7. Writing every day is a grand way to gracefully welcome in a new year of life. I turned 27 on September 19 and all of that writing and thinking helped me to embrace a new year with an added layer of gratitude and enthusiasm.
8. Writing consistently has helped me to be kinder to myself and more thankful for what I have. On August 27, I wrote, “I think simple situations can get so complicated by ourselves. While maybe it’s not as simple as ‘all you need is love,’ it probably isn’t too far off and the need to love, trust, and treat yourself with compassion is difficult to overstate.”
9. But really, most of my thoughts are not too profound and that’s ok. This insight reminds me of my days shooting on a film camera. I would shoot rolls upon rolls of film and most of the pics would come out in the “average to crappy” range, but every 30 pics or so, I’d get that one magic shot that made all the others worth it. Instead of getting bummed about all the less than fabulous shots, it’s crucial to be thankful and inspired by the magic shots and from there resolve to keep taking pictures, no matter the outcome. In a sentence, the outcome is not important.
10. To confess: I didn’t actually write for a full hour for all 30 days…and you know what, I’m ok with that. There were days when I simply needed a good night’s sleep and hadn’t planned my day well enough to pull off the full hour. There were days when I simply had nothing left inside of me to say (although these times are really few and far between; I’ve found that if I sit with the silence for a while, something usually comes…). Yet this challenge has strengthened my belief in writing just for the sake of writing. For as long as I can remember (tracing back to the poems I wrote about animal rights and the days of scribing fights with my sister in my Little House on the Prairie diary), I’ve been aware of the power that writing holds in my life. And yet, as I mentioned in the 30-day challenge post, my discipline is often lacking and I’ll go weeks, months even, without putting a single word on paper. This 30-day challenge reinforced my belief in the value and benefits of writing in my life. On September 3, I wrote, “I think it takes courage to sit with my thoughts and words for an hour each day. Who knows that might surface during those 60 minutes? But each day that I stick with it, the more I know that only good, only growth can come from this commitment and this process.” On September 26, I wrote, “If nothing else, writing relaxes me and helps me to keep it real. Remember the value and stay committed.”
So what now? Will I continue to challenge myself to write for an hour every day moving forward? I don’t think so - not in the same sense, but I am quite sure I will write more days than not and my belief in the importance of writing consistently has certainly been fortified over the last month. I also see the value in making small, sustainable changes to my life and will continue to experiment with this concept.
Writing is indeed one of the most powerful ways I have found to share my story with others and be real with myself about how my story is unfolding. I do believe that we have an almost immeasurable capacity to create, to communicate, to share, and to love once we honor this potential and give ourselves the space and freedom to express these things.
