I’m often asked when I teach the Artist’s Way if I do the morning pages myself and if I do them every day. The answer is yes, I do morning pages myself, and I do them more often than not. Some days I reach the full three pages and others I stop at two. There are days when I don’t do them because of scheduling, or life gets in the way, but I do return to them.
I was thinking about my morning pages yesterday morning as I was preparing for the day. I have a current session that is winding down and I have a new session starting in June. My first thought was, “You deserve a break. Don’t do the morning pages for the next few weeks, but then start back up I was thinking about my morning pages yesterday morning as I was preparing for the day. I have a current session that is winding down, and I have a new session starting in June. My first thought was, “You deserve a break. Don’t do the morning pages for the next few weeks, but then start back up again when the new session starts.” Almost immediately after that, my brain started ruminating over all the things I want to do, how I’ve felt unfocused lately with everything going on, and I needed to pick a couple of projects instead of being superficial with a dozen projects. “I need focus!” my brain screamed at me.
It was at that moment when I started going the list of tools I have to refocus that it dawned on me It was at that moment when I started going the list of tools, I have to refocus that it dawned on me that I need the morning pages now more than ever. So I sat down with my morning pages, wrote out how I was feeling, where I wanted to focus, and decided to let go of things that weren’t working for me. I took a walk, and then out of my pages combined with the walk, I produced an action plan for the upcoming week. I then knocked out some items, which then allowed me some me time. In the afternoon, I picked up my sketchbook and sat on the deck, and sketched a rhododendron bush. I found a sweet little “star” in the blossom straight across from me to start.
Sometimes when you think you don’t need to do the morning pages–or journaling, or writing, or sketching, or reflection that is when you need to do them.
AULDHOUSE 