Confession Tuesday

Dear Reader,

First, thank you for all your great comments on last week's confession (Are Blogs Dead?)  I will be keeping my blog for a few reasons... maybe that will a different post (I'm supposed to be confessing, right?)  Though two main reasons are: it helps me organize my thoughts on things.  And Facebook can tire me.

So with that, let's get on into what we're here to do.  It's time to confess.  To the confessional--

I confess I woke up today with that uncomfortable feeling of imbalance between what I have and what I want.

It's nothing major, but it tells me I'm not feeling grateful for my life and I hate that feeling.

For example--

What I have: a beautiful house that I love.
What I want: a beautiful house that I love with organized cabinets.

It makes me annoyed with myself when I focus on the minuscule and not the big picture.  That said, focusing on the minuscule is what makes me a poet and helps my work become better.

Still, I hate feeling as if that the picture in my head of what my life "should be" doesn't match up to what the picture in the world of what my life is.  I need to take another picture in my mind and this time, focus on the good and what I have.  



~

I confess yesterday on a walk with a poetfriend, I realized I was getting in that place where I'm ready for summer to end and I'm yearning for fall.

I know, some of you want to bop me on the head for saying that.

But I love autumn, it's my favorite time of year and I feel as if I get a pre-autumn in August when the blackberries ripen and the scent of summer changes so you can begin to smell fall in the air.

While many poets I know write and do much of their writing in summer, summer is the one time of year I don't write, I'm not interested in poetry or writing or doing anything that feels like an indoor activity.  I want to be out and away and on the water or looking at the water or sleeping in the sun or working in the garden or doing anything besides writing.

But I feel that beginning to change.

~

I confess I plan on doing the Artist Way this fall.

If you haven't done this, you should.  It's basically a 12 step program for creatives.  I do it about everything 3 years, though I think it's been 5 years since I last did it.

Here's the book-- Artist Way Starter Kit (with Morning Pages Journal)
or if you just want the Artist Way book, go here.

Maybe this year, I'll post my weekly responses on my blog and maybe if others want to do the Artist Way as well we could connect here.  Hmmm...

I hadn't thought to do that, but doing the Artist Way as a group is much better.  I have a few writers whom I'll be checking in with via email, but I like the idea of putting it out here for others as well.  Would anyone be interested?

I'm thinking we're going to start the Artist Way in mid-September and then it will go 12 weeks from there-- so through much of November. (November seems like a long way away...)

Anyhoo, if you'd be interested in doing the Artist Way this fall as well, drop me a note or leave a comment.

~

I confess I'm going to shake myself out of this-- my life would be better if I had organized cabinets mode-- and get on with loving all I have.  Bad perfectionist controlling voice...



Amen.



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Comments

  1. I confess that I love fall too, even in Southern California where you have to sniff pretty hard for a whiff of leaves and fruit.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh yes, here in the land of endless sun, I feel the tide in me turning towards the long deep twilights of fall. I've gotten so little written this summer, I hope that fall will be more productive.

    I'm intrigued by committing to The Artist's Way again. I remember how exhilarating it was the last time I worked my way through it, but that was so many years ago now. I may perhaps join you.

    take care,
    Erin

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh yes, here in the land of endless sun, I feel the tide in me turning towards the long deep twilights of fall. I've gotten so little written this summer, I hope that fall will be more productive.

    I'm intrigued by committing to The Artist's Way again. I remember how exhilarating it was the last time I worked my way through it, but that was so many years ago now. I may perhaps join you.

    take care,
    Erin

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kelli- I would be very interested joining with others to do The Artist's Way.

    And now all i want to do today is sit and eat blackberries. Gee thanks for putting that idea in my head.

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  5. I would definitely love to do The Artist's Way. I have never tried it, and participating as a group would probably be a wonderful way for me to explore this method.

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  6. Memphis sinks to the second ring of hell come July and August, so all I do is hide inside air conditioned, curtained rooms and pray for fall.

    I've never heard of this program before and can't seem to find much of a description about it. Is it sort of like a workbook/journal exercise? I'm curious what you got out of it the last time (or even the first time) you did it. I just finished my MFA and feeling a little off-balance with all of that, so it might be really nice to commit to something that continues to fuel that.

    ReplyDelete

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