Got a Strong Feeling? – Here’s An InvitatIon to Express Yourself

THE INSPIRATION:

This picture showed up on my FB feed some time ago. A time of personal turmoil. I resonated deeply with this image. A friend of mine was writing poetry those days and I took my cue from her to put down my feelings in words.

The process of writing the following poem, was a powerful experience that clarified my confused mind state and showed me the path forward at a confusing and difficult time. I explored this one particularly nuanced feeling that arose within me of strength and being strong in the face of “whatever was going on around me”.

This poem is a result of the exploration of this one particularly nuanced feeling that arose within me.

A tiny but powerful sliver of the whole.

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THE RESULT – THIS POEM:

Lighthouse in the Storm

I am a lighthouse in the storm

I stand steadfast and strong – sangfroid

I am grounded and hold on no matter the battering I weather

I am a lighthouse in the storm

I shine my light steadily through it all

Maybe I mean something to someone out there –

Maybe I brought hope and maybe I didn’t

I am a lighthouse in the storm

The wind and the waves crash over me

The howling fury of the storm surrounds me

I exult in it, I embrace it, I am challenged by it

I am a lighthouse in the storm

I stand alone – as the world lets loose around me

I embrace my strength and celebrate my existence

I smile – I will survive or maybe I won’t –

I am a lighthouse in the storm.

After writing down the whole, I went after the core feeling. Like the part about surviving (last paragraph). Initially I had written ‘I will survive no matter what’. It didn’t sit well; it was immaterial whether I did or didn’t survive. What mattered was that I embraced what was and stood strong regardless of the outcomes. It was more about the lighthouse being true to its nature than it was about the storm. It wasn’t me against the storm: it was me keeping my best self.

When I finished, I had reached a turning point, I felt a sense of completion, peace and resolve.

THE INVITATION:

Writing is a lovely way, not only for self expression, but for resolution, clarification, affirming, dumping the stuff we hold and carry, sharing of self with another, finding peace and many more things besides.

Journal writing is one form of catharsis. But here I invite you to write a stand alone piece – a story with a title, as a way of finding your voice at times and in places when you can not otherwise.

Your story can be about anything that holds emotional charge for you. It could be about everyday mundane things like work, home and life’s ups and downs. Or it can be about more generalised feelings – like the state of the world or a basal level of anxiety you are feeling.

As you write your story I invite you to be a detective; looking for, searching and seeking resonance with your internal core, the part that is holding this feeling. The words you write should find traction within. Only when you have fully expressed on paper what you hold within, will there be release, ease and clarity.

Whatever your reasons, I invite you to try it out.

Some tips to get you started on Writing:

1. Get yourself a notebook /writing instrument that invites you to write. Or create a folder on your device with an encouraging title “Ramblings of my Magic/Manic Mind”..
2. Write about things that you resonate with, are passionate about or that are weighing on your mind. Something with an emotional charge.
3. Write like no one will read this. You don’t need the added pressure of other people’s judgement at this stage – this gift is for you alone.
4. Chase down the ‘feeling’ that is at the genesis of this piece. A little bit of objectivity helps: be the observed as well as the observer. And in that sense, writing a piece like this is different from journal writing, where you completely immerse yourself in your feelings.
5. When writing, keep in mind beginning, middle and end. Start with laying a premise a context. Write the body. Tie it all up with your main conclusion at the end. Do this even if no one ever reads it.
6. Give your piece a title.
7. When you read or see something that inspires you, make note of it in a new document and then write about it later. I have shared an example of this below.
8. Enjoy the process as well as the result.
9. If you so feel inclined, share your story .

It does not matter if you are a writer or not. We all, every single one of us, has a story to tell.These stories must be told, expressed, heard, seen.

Give yourself permission to tell yours – I hope you run with it!

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