Morning Pages

In 1995 I read a book that had a huge impact on my life.  I had just been "downsized" out of a corporate training job at GE and was ready for a transition. The book was "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron and it provided exactly the kind of shepherding I needed to move into a new phase of my life.  Her words and processes strengthened my resolve to enter a creative field.

Here it is 2010 and, again, I'm in transition.  In May I closed my online business and moved on from designing clothes and accessories.  For the past few months I've been spending time in the garden, enjoying my new grandson and, gasp! attempting to upgrade my cooking skills.  It's been good.

So I was surprised this past week when I felt a small void creeping into my awareness. What's going on? What am I missing?  Is there some part of me that's waiting to be recognized and encouraged?

Back to the book. An essential part of Julia Cameron's process is the Morning Pages- three pages of long hand stream-of-conscious writing every day. No excuses. For seven years I wrote my three pages a day and then I stopped.  Why?  I'm not sure.  I don't remember.  I do remember that during those seven years, even though there were mornings I resisted doing them, I was always glad I did. Always.

So this morning I decided to dust off my book and re-read the section about Morning Pages.  Before I could decide to procrastinate (I don't have a spiral notebook...maybe I'll just check my email) I stacked  pieces of paper to a clipboard and started writing.