Julia Cameron's Artist's Way: Keeping Yourself Sane During the Holidays
Melinda Palacio -- December 2, 2005
Julia Cameron's the Artist's Way: Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity has helped writers, painters and those who do not call themselves artists, find creativity in their daily lives. One of the Cameron's tools towards the artist's way is her "morning pages:" journaling every morning for three pages straight. The idea of journaling may seem intuitive to a writer; however, her book is meant to help people of all walks of life refill their creative fuel tank.
Cameron's "morning pages" are not about jotting down the occasion burst of inspiration, but rather are a regimented task you do first thing in the morning before checking email or starting your day. Forcing myself to write my "morning pages" helped me move away from the small tremors that add stress and take away from the holiday spirit, including the most tasteless outbursts at the Thanksgiving dinner table.
One of my high school friends, invited me to her home for Thanksgiving. I looked forward to the celebration because I hadn't seen her much since her marriage to an English man three years ago. Her parents and her husband's older brother and cousin joined us for dinner. My friend's brother-in-law, it turns out, is a xenophobe. Though an illegal alien himself (he's intentionally overstayed his visa) he crudely insisted that there are "too many brown people in California overcrowding the schools." At the time, I was so shocked by his hypocrisy, that I could not respond.
It wouldn't surprise me to learn that unpleasant dinner conversations (most of which are one-sided) are the cause of most writers' block. In the days that followed the traditional American 3000-calorie meal, I kept thinking back to those words that numbed my tongue and froze my being. I tried to stay focused on the new scenes I was trying to write, but snippets of the bizarre conversation interrupted me. Although my friend had apologized profusely for her brother-in-law's behavior, I realized that I was more annoyed because I had not confronted him. What finally eased my mind was taking up my notebook the next morning and writing everything that I had been thinking about during the past few days.
After this lesson, I was able to finish a first draft of new short story. Recognizing my frustration at one a small-minded man's fear of diversity allowed me to feel more compassion for my neighbor. I accepted the fact that I chose not to speak while angry and hurt. Getting these feelings out of the way allows time to spend on creative matters rather than negative emotions.
Journaling is not only a way to generate new ideas, but a meditative process. In The Artist's Way, Cameron describes journaling as a way for creativity to bond with us. "The morning pages acquaint us with what we think and what we think we need. We identify problem areas and concerns. We complain, enumerate, identify, isolate, fret." For Cameron, morning pages show us the other side of our fear, negativity and moods. It's a great discovery to see what oozes out of the creative side of everyday battles and confrontations. You don't have to be a writer or an artist to use the technique to sort out your day.
I use a small spiral notebook for journaling, but whatever you choose, have fun with it. Your journal is a sacred space. No amount of holiday furniture rearranging should cause you to give up the precious minutes to yourself. Author Denise Chavez recommends splurging on your journal, buying colorful pens and a bound journal with nice blank paper to allow for the occasional burst of artistic inspiration. I find that I can write on almost any kind of paper, blank, lined, graphed. What's more important is a pen with ink that flows. There's nothing worse than a pen running dry to clip inspiration. On the other hand, a sharpened pencil works well too.
Here are my winter remedies. Be grateful for the diversity and culture of our state and country. Keep your notebook with you at all times. And, finally, practice, peace, love and creativity. Happy Holidays and hold true to your morning pages.