It feels to me like we’re coming down from a precipice, a surreal 15 months.
As we enter this new phase, what calls to you?
What are you ready to let go of?
How can you release or lighten the load you carry?
Prompt inspired from “Where Do You Hang Your Hammock?” by Bella Mahaya Carter.
If you could change some things in your history, what would you change?
Use all of these words or some of these words in a freewrite:
Hot tub, paper umbrella, palm tree, camp or camping, vigil, convertible, transformation, fire.
Inspired by “The Oasis This Time, Living and Dying with Water in the West,” by Rebecca Lawton, a fluvial geologist.
Write about something you have had to adapt to.
Was change easy? Or, was it a struggle (either internally or externally)?
Write about something you adapted to.
Write about the process of adapting. What did you do? How did it go?
Reflection: As in a mirror, or on water, or serious thought or consideration, or some other type of reflection.
Today’s prompt is inspired by Mavis Staples and her essay on The Isolation Journals.
Mavis wrote:
Many times in my life, I’ve come across someone who won’t smile, who won’t speak to me. I’ll get on an elevator and say “good morning,” and that person won’t say anything in return. My sister Yvonne—she’s different from me. When people are rude or unfriendly, Yvonne’ll tell them, “I didn’t do anything to you! Whatever is on your mind, don’t take it out on me.” But I’m wired differently. I keep a smile on my face, and I say to myself, “Alright. I’ll say a little prayer for you.”
And I’ll say a prayer that whatever they’re struggling with, they’ll get through. That whatever is heavy, whatever is burdening them, they’ll find a way to lighten that load. That they’ll realize, even in the middle of great struggle, there are things to be thankful for.
This is especially true in hard times like these. When things are difficult, when troubles seem overwhelming, it’s helpful to look back and consider all you’ve gotten through and how far you’ve come. It’s important to remember your blessings, starting with the fact that you woke up this morning. The sun rose again, and you did too—and here you are, breathing, above the concrete.
And just acknowledging that simple fact as a blessing—that can make you feel better.
Writing Prompt:
Write about your blessings. About what it was like to wake up today, about the people you love, about the songs that have lifted your spirits.
Write about the wind in the trees, or rebirth in spring, or of freedom.
Write about whatever gives you hygge.
Hygge: a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture).
Your Deepest Core by Maggie Rogers:
Throughout my life I’ve thought of vulnerability as a shield. My logic goes something like—if I tell you my whole truth, everything I’m feeling, then there’s no ammo left for you to hurt me. It’s been my default defense mechanism for as long as I can remember. I was the kid in the second grade telling everyone who I had a crush on instead of trying to keep it a secret.
Prompt: I was the kid who . . .
Prompt inspired from The Isolation Journals with Suleika Jaouad, “A newsletter for people seeking to transform life’s interruptions into creative grist.”