Being Held

I’ve been working on my essays for the holiday run of Just Five Things, and they just feel…good.  I had doubts about running it this December (December 2-13) since autumn has been extra full over here.  October was a month-long, online journaling workshop and then I went right into Gratitude Week.  All the while I’ve also been creating material for my local teen journaling class.  So to think I’d be ready for another online workshop in early December?  What was I thinking?

I’ll tell you what I was thinking.

The essays and prompts are (extra) quiet.  The words, at least as I write them, feel like a gentle hug.  When I’ve run this holiday workshop in past years, the participants are (extra) lovely and kind and thoughtful and always make me glad and grateful to be gathering in early December.

It’s a busy time of year, I know.  On the one hand, who needs a workshop to bother with when there’s so much else going on? On the other hand, lots of us need a workshop (like this) which offers a gentle, soft touchstone during early December.

Of all the journaling work I’ve explored over the years, creative list making is at the top.  There is something to be said for techniques like stream-of-consciousness writing (popularized by Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way).  But there’s also something to be said for the freedom found in a list.  The loose format, the (sometimes) brevity of words, the satisfaction of spilling concentrated (yet free-ing) thoughts. Numbered or bulleted…doesn’t matter. Single words, phrases, long sentences…doesn’t matter.  All that matters is getting thoughts onto the page.  The list is merely a tool, a framework, a container.  I say merely, but that word perhaps downplays the power of these lists.

So what was I thinking, offering this workshop at this busy time of year, after an extra busy fall?

I was thinking of those lists, those containers.  The way they hold thoughts, the way they hold stories…the way they hold the writers of the lists.  I was thinking it was the perfect time of year for stories and safe spaces.  I was thinking it was the perfect time of year for being held.

Come.  Join us.*

Sending a little love your way, m

*  click image below for workshop details (please note accommodating workshop fees)