Sometimes when I feel off, I pick up a (red) pen and start moving my hand without any rhyme or reason. Whenever I do this, there’s inevitably a moment when I feel like an insane person as I wait for the momentum to build and my hand to start dancing across the page in more fluid movements.

“Will I get a message?”

“Am I simply scribbling nothingness?”

“Have I lost my mind?”*

These thoughts float into my consciousness even though I have enough evidence to trust that what I need to explore will come and yet, I still wonder if it will happen.

Here’s what transpired today:

First, pick up my pen and get my mind out of the way long enough to not feel totally insane and instead let my hand start to move.

Second, observe myself drawing a bunch of confusing looking circles in a spiral that somewhat resemble a flower by the end.

Recognize I’m in the process of writing, “Peace is yours to claim.” Think to myself, “mmm, that seems relevant.”

Lastly, in messy letters illegible to even myself yet heard clearly as the pen trailed across the page, “Write your heart. That is your art.”

What a beautiful sentiment. Thanks unconscious.

And that is what I’m aiming to do here, write my heart in a way that speaks to yours.

If you dare try this simple creative practice, I’d love to know what comes up for you. Drop me a note in the comments.

xx

*I’m beginning to think, sometimes losing our minds, or at least temporarily misplacing them, might actually be a good thing. When our minds quiet, we can hear other signals.