“We all have shadows, fears, insecurities, and doubts. Acceptance of them all leads us to realizing an unconditional love for ourselves. When we can begin to love the parts of ourselves that we’ve deemed to be unlovable, when we invite in our shadows and let them know they are welcome, when we acknowledge and become curious to our fears, doubts, and insecurities, then we begin to realize that our innate nature (Love) has the capacity to hold them all. Everything within us is part of us. When we accept this, our true nature is revealed.” —Alister Gray Writing Prompt: Explore your fears, doubts, and insecurities as a curious child would explore sand, rain, flowers. Observe. Imagine. Create. Invite your shadow self to peek around the corner. Take a deep breath in. Let it out. Another deep breath in. Hold for a moment. Release. Acknowledge your fears, doubts, and insecurities. Give…
Category: Prompts
The Right Thing . . . Prompt #735
Write about a time you did the right thing, even though it was difficult and you didn’t really want to do it. Or, write about a time you didn’t do the right thing. What happened?
What is your gift? Prompt #734
Someone said to me: Everyone has a gift. What is your gift? #justwrite #amwriting #iamwriter
If you could learn a new skill . . . Prompt #733
If you could learn a new skill, what would it be? #justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter
Valuable Lesson . . . Prompt #732
Things don’t always go your way. Sometimes the blooper is not your fault. Other times, you did a dumb, silly thing. Did you learn a lesson? Did you make the same mistake again? #justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter
I am curious about . . . Prompt #731
Today’s Prompt: I am curious about . . . #just write #iamawriter #iamwriting
Has your comfort zone changed? Prompt #730
Has your comfort zone changed? Are you more, or less, tolerant than you used to be? Are you more, or less, comfortable in crowds? What did you used to do that you don’t do now? What do you do now that you didn’t used to do? #justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter
I would never . . . Prompt #729
Write from your personal experience, or as your fictional character would answer. Prompt #1 Write a list of things you, or your fictional character, would never do. Prompt #2 Choose one item from the list. Imagine you have accomplished that item. Write about it as if you have done it. What happened? Did that accomplishment lead to something interesting? Did you win an award? How did you feel writing as if you accomplished it? #justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter
Acceptance . . . Prompt #728
A writer and writing teacher I admire, Rebecca Evans, talked about an Entry Point as an opener when writing. Rebecca asked us to think of comfortable things. Things you’re wearing and you don’t even know you’re wearing, like eyeglasses. I thought that was interesting because I don’t like wearing my glasses. I usually take them off as soon as I get home from going out. About a week after Rebecca’s workshop, as I drove to my first errand, things looked blurry. I couldn’t read signs clearly. I thought, “I need to get my eyes checked.” I accomplished my errands. Got home. And did my usual, took my glasses off first thing. That’s when I noticed . . . I was not wearing my distance glasses. I was wearing my computer glasses. I guess the moral is things can be comfortable without our even noticing it. Or, maybe the moral is…
Comfort Food and more . . . Prompt #727
Excerpted from the May 2023 issue of the Sonoma County Gazette: Research over the past 20 years shows the same result time and time again: when we’re stressed, we want what researchers call high energy and nutrient-dense foods—those snacks, treats and meals that are high in fat and sugar. Comfort foods improve mood, reduce loneliness and connect us to cherished memories, often linked to childhood. A craving for comfort food typically stems from an extreme emotion, including happiness, meaning we reach for comfort foods even to celebrate. Comfort foods often trigger our reward system by releasing dopamine, a hormone and neurotransmitter. When we take a bite of that comfort food, whether it’s a hot fudge sundae, peanut butter and apples, tikka masala or a double bacon cheeseburger, dopamine floods the brain and gives us a huge boost of pleasure feelings. Any negative feelings we may have been experiencing before—stress, anger,…