Scary and beautiful.

You know how a cat on your lap can be purring away, and then suddenly opens her eyes in alarm and bites you for no reason?

Sometimes when I catch myself feeling grateful and relaxed, it triggers a stab of anxiety, just like that.

This is a scary time. Also it is beautiful. Both at once. As I get older, I am learning how to tolerate more good feelings, like safety, inspiration and pleasure. Even though — especially because — things are also uncertain and troubling.

Gratitude, pleasure, feeling what’s good right now… it’s necessary. It fills us with energy, and that makes us stronger and more responsive.

We’re writers.

We need energy so we can use our imagination.

Some of us may have heard the call to write all along, but avoided it before now. These days, the call to write feels clearer than ever.

Since we were little, the paradigm has been teaching us how to be a productive and profitable part of its machinery. And we choose to write our stories, anyway.

We have been paying attention to everything, all this time. We’ve been taking notes.

We know how to write things that can’t be expressed in words.

And we know how to imagine something that doesn’t exist yet.

Pretty powerful stuff, huh? Our craft is not to be overlooked.

Because we also understand the story we are living in — the story of summer and winter, of life and death.

Deep down, we all know how these stories work: we start out wanting something. And then there’s a period when all seems lost. Then someone (or a collective) does something different. It is that change that stimulates healing and growth.

Stories are our witnesses, healers, protectors, and guides.

People who write stories know how to show us what’s really happening when we’re caught in a spell.

They can heal broken hearts and release old dreams, teach us how to build new worlds, and make us feel empowered.

Writing stories is an essential form of resistance.

So…

If you are writing a story that shows us something new

If you are writing through angry tears because you know someone’s lying to you

If you are writing the truth that nobody else is brave enough to write

If you are writing and exhausted because your inner critic is doubting you

If you are writing and feeling scared because you don’t know how to do it right I see what you’re doing. Me too. Keep going.

When you’re writing, your state of mind makes you a stabilizing force for the people around you.

Love,

ps. If you’re looking for something to keep you writing right now, please check out the Story Course. In 2021 we did a major update for the program, including new videos and audio recordings, readings, commentary, and beautiful somatic writing practices. 

Photo credit (top): Toni Reed