• Home
  • About
  • Let’s Create Together (Creative Coaching, Retreats & More)
    • Creative Life Coaching
    • One-on-One Complimentary Transformational Conversations: Get to the Heart of Life Coaching Now
    • Retreats: Collaborative, Creative, Exactly as You (and Your Organization) Needs
    • #5for5BrainDump
  • Blog
    • Writing Tips
    • Writing Challenges & Play
  • Contact
  • #5for5BrainDump

Creative Life Midwife

Inspiring Artistic Rebirth

You are here: Home / #5for5BrainDump / Art Journaling Plus Writing Follow Up = Insights Galore

Art Journaling Plus Writing Follow Up = Insights Galore

July 29, 2018 by jjscreativelifemidwife

Sometimes art journaling and art making lead to surprising word combinations I enjoy taking more deeply with journaling of the more conventional kind: free flow writing.

Look what happened here:

The phrase “compassionate punishment” has continued to sit with me. If we were sentient beings in the same room, compassionate punishment would be sitting in a fashionable knock-off of a mid-century modern arm chair and I would be here, in my writing corner recliner wondering how long it will take me to feel better this morning after a difficult night.

When I feel like this, I hear voices of the past, like these:

Blond woman at Moms Group at church or was it, perhaps Bible Study, “Sometimes you just have to get on with it,” when I spoke about depression and loneliness.

I translated that into “Don’t talk about your feelings here at church. People won’t like you. Stay away.” My compassionate self-punishment was to not engage vulnerably with that particular woman again. I found others people to interact with and chose to stay away from that with her even though I would be happy to see her again.

Speaking of staying away, I… lost whatever image I meant to portray here.

I lean back in my recliner and decide which portion of this brief writing to leave unspoken.

“Earth is forgiveness school” Anne Lamott’s words and memory continues to haunt me.

I typed those words and a sweet bird sits on the brand of the tree that lives in my yard. Hop up, hop down.

“Earth is forgiveness school.” The bird, a vision of grace, reminded me of the love surrounding me, always.

Most recently, someone who was once my friend said to me not once, not twice, “Are you happy now, Julie?” in another moment of time that is scorched into my head. It literally took me about an hour to figure out what she was talking about, but I knew immediately the intent was for me to feel ashamed.

This morning I spoke with a friend who described me as grouchy. “I am allowed to feel what I feel,” I told him. “plus I wouldn’t call authentic feelings grouchy.”

Thankfully investing an hour or so in constructive conversation was exactly the medicine I needed to feel better. I can see the sentient-being-compassionate-punishment armchair has fallen asleep for now.

All’s well.

= = = =

The next #5for5BrainDump session: always free with miraculous creative breakthroughs, has been scheduled! August 21 – August 25 we will be creating/journaling/writing along the themes of Starting Fresh: Your Creative Rebirth. To receive emails about the free session details as well as a weekly tips-and-tricks note from Julie, please sign up (yes, always free) here. 

 

 

 

Facebooktwitterpinterestrssyoutubeinstagram
Facebooktwitterpinterest

Filed Under: #5for5BrainDump, Art Journaling, Creative Adventures, Creative Process, End Writer's Block, Journaling Tips and More, Storytelling

Recent Posts

  • Best Tasks to Assign to ChatGPT or Other AI for Writers & Bloggers
  • Is AI for Blogging Your Right Choice?
  • Planting the Seeds of Love: Overcoming Resistance to Encourage Growth
  • How to Take One Prompt to Create Multiple Forms of Content
  • Beyond Emotional Groundhog Day: Surrender to Empowered Yes

Recent Comments

  • jjscreativelifemidwife on Best Tasks to Assign to ChatGPT or Other AI for Writers & Bloggers
  • Cheryl on Best Tasks to Assign to ChatGPT or Other AI for Writers & Bloggers
  • debra on Best Tasks to Assign to ChatGPT or Other AI for Writers & Bloggers
  • Martha on Is AI for Blogging Your Right Choice?
  • Lisa Carnichael on Is AI for Blogging Your Right Choice?

Archives

  • January 2023
  • October 2022
  • July 2022
  • April 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • May 2015

Categories

  • #5for5BrainDump
  • 2018
  • A to Z Literary Grannies
  • Affirmations for Writers
  • Art Journaling
  • Bridge to the New Year
  • Business Artistry
  • Content Creation Strategies
  • Creative Adventures
  • Creative Life Coaching
  • Creative Process
  • Creativity While Quarantined
  • Daily Consistency
  • End Writer's Block
  • Goals
  • Grief
  • Healing
  • Intention/Connection
  • Intention/Connection
  • Journaling Tips and More
  • Literary Grannies
  • Meditation and Mindfulness
  • Mindfulness
  • Mixed Media Art
  • Poetry
  • Rewriting the Narrative
  • Self Care
  • Storytelling
  • Uncategorized
  • Video and Livestreaming
  • Virtual Coffee Date
  • Writing Challenges & Play
  • Writing Prompt
  • Writing Tips

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
  • One-On-One Coaching
  • Retreats: Collaborative, Creative, Exactly as You (and Your Organization) Needs

Creative Life Midwidfe · Julie Jordan Scott © 2023
Website Design by Freeborboleta