Have you been sleepless lately?
Me too.
There was a night last week when I woke up at 3 AM, and could not accept—anything.
It’s the kind of thing that will leave you asking the ceiling overhead, the rafters, the roof creaking in the wind, the sky:
Is it worth being angry at the world?
Does it help anything?
So many questions and one thing I know for sure:
This is what the first creative step looks like sometimes.
Wordless, stressful…hopeless even. But…
Many, many incredible things start with a deep feeling right in the center of you. They start silent--but grow from there.
A doodle-over I made when I had no words…
A work of art, the book or post that changed someone’s mind.
An idea.
A movement.
Maybe you’ve been “scattered?”
Too scattered to start anything new.
Like that next big teaching project, that next translation…that next date with your journal.
Maybe you’ve been feeling guilty about that?
I’m right there with you.
But what does it really mean to be scattered?
Maybe it really means you’ve just been reading the news in little doses.
Knowing that for the rest of the day you’ll carry something white and hot in your heart.
That white hot thing you’re carrying requires action, creative work.
And sometimes there are no more words.
Here are some ideas to keep you creating--anyway.
And, yes, I think you can do some of these right now. (I am).
Do the creative work of your life first.
You know…
Reorganizing your life to take in a new reality and new priorities is a creative act.
Even if it doesn’t require a pen or paintbrush.
What does that mean for you?
Maybe you reach out to friends and loved ones to make sure they’re safe.
Maybe you raise your monthly donation to a charity.
Or donate to a new one.
Or maybe you volunteer locally.
What’s your priority right now?
Do that first.
And don’t call yourself scattered.
You are focused.
On the right things.
A doodle-over I did these past weeks to remind me of what matters deeply.
Take care of yourself.
What if, suddenly, the creative outlet you used to turn to is ‘too much?’
What if the work that you love and that sustains you is ‘too much?’
I think I need a post-it somewhere--or hundreds of them that say:
Reminder: you have a body!
You can’t keep going unless you sustain it.
And you need it for everything you do from reinventing the world, to staying kind and gracious when you’re mad as hell.
Yes, catching up on your sleep because you’ve been awake and angry and scared is a thing!
Yes, remembering that you need to actually eat is a thing.
Yes, stress accumulates in your body (even if, and especially if) you don’t voice it.
Eat a bowl of soup, go to bed early, dance, sing, do yoga or lie in a field and look at the sky.
Do that. And then…
Do some art for when there are no words.
Art when there are no words #1: Doodle over.
Grab a photo that means something to you--or that you enjoy looking at, or that has a scene or topic you’d like to work through…
(I make the images more transparent in Canva so the outlines show more.)
A scene from daily life here in France…and you? What does your life look like doodled over?
Then just doodle over the top of it using the pen, ink or pencil you like, with the line patterns you like...all one line, points, squiggles...your call.
I know some artists who are clever enough to do this on their tablets…but I am sticking to analog for now.
Start it whenever...stop whenever, finish whenever--or never finish--it's the process that counts.
If you’re subscribed to the newsletter, I’ve sent you a few of these ready to doodle over by email. Not subscribed? Get future creative prompts and invites to our writing workshops here.
Art when there are no words #2: Paint your emotions.
Last week in our creative community, we did a collaboration where we chose a word or emotion and painted it--in a very, very abstract way.
It was fun and cathartic.
A great thing to do when you don’t have words.
When is the last time you gave yourself permission to get out the paints and make a mess?
To create without words…and without any other purpose than to express yourself or an emotion or idea.
You can also doodle over your abstract art.
Or ‘find’ words in other places like the newspaper or snippets of songs…and collage them into the emotional landscape you paint.
Who knows where you’ll end up once you get started.
The point is to start, isn’t it?
Writing when there are no words: Don’t face the page alone.
Some of us have journaling habits that go back decades.
And there are people in our writing community who get up and write every morning.
You know, Julia Cameron and her morning pages…
And yes, in normal times, I love that too. But…
There are times when that might not be best for you. How can you tell?
If putting pen to paper is really just ruminating, rehashing worries, trying to think your way out of it all…
If you feel worse after writing than you did before.
If that happens? You don’t have to give up writing.
But maybe, you’d be better off coming at things from the side, using creative prompts to get you started.
Not sure where to begin? Sign up here to get short and sweet prompts to get you started…and all my future creative prompts.
Where are you right now in your creative process?
I’d love to hear from you--whether you’re recalibrating, recovering, diving into small creative projects or big ones. Tell us about it in the comments below.