Writing Through Tough Times

Times are tough right now. Mentally, financially and spiritually. Lately, the place where I find the most solace is my little tree orchard with my 8 foot extendable branch pruner from Harbor Freight. While I am far from an arborist, I feel intuitive amid the swaying wooden limbs ladden with avocados and apples. I seem to understand which rogue branches are sucking away the nutrients and have to be chopped. I find myself two hours later messy, sweaty, with leaves in my hair, but I feel like I have made a difference in my little part of the world.

While it is not easy to know what you need to prune from your scope of attention right now, (when not wresting trees) I have always found a regular writing practice gets me to the root of where I need to focus and who I can serve. Sometimes, that writing practice leads to little gems that can be re-purposed in newsletters or blogs. In multiple instances, writings became my current book. I also keep a not-sophisticated running commentary of my life on my lap top in a Word doc called Dear God. Entries vary from long winded paragraphs (if I am really trying to sort through the details/my part/the takeaway) to half sentences if I get pulled into a discussion with one of my daughters about a pending issue like hang nail removal or college essay review (and boy do they think I have expertise in both those areas and all in between!) I return to these writings to see arcs in my life, or where I have moved through issues with grace (or grandeur!)

As a society, we have been on a tremendous roller coaster the last few years to say the least. From devout isolationism to save our lives to emerging from our cocoons with unexpected ideas and personas. Some of us are no longer married while others got married by hook or by crook. Many people (35% of the work force) left their 9-5 jobs to finally go after that dream of business ownership. We have wars and unrest all over the world, women's rights taken away, a very deciding election date looming, more variants, Money Pox and don't even get me started on the price of gas (who ever thought I would be happy at less than $6 a gallon?) We have been white knuckling for so long and trying to put a happy face on what we have been through, we forgot we still have the right as a society to share, be open and connect.

If that is a struggle for you as a communicator, then I suggest tapping into a part of yourself and write. Many people who don't want to write books or be writers have taken The Artist's Way. It opens a part of you that has laid undeserved for a while. While that course focuses on all artists, I suggest getting even more specific and taking a writing course of discovery. Show up weekly, get messy and let your freak flag fly. What is read in the writing room stays in the writing room in my courses.

If you are reading this article and wondering how this applies to book writing, publishing or branding, trust me, one of the best ways to find your book is within, and that comes from the most authentic part of yourself that can connect. I am in fact connecting here right now writing this for you. So from me to you, thank you.

Let's let out some of the steam from inside our bodies, hearts and minds with the age old craft of writing.

If you are interested in setting sail and navigating the waters of writing to connect within, reach out to me and I will get you signed up for my 8 week writing course Writing For Clarity!