Day 189 Morning Pages

I had an awesome weekend, in spite of being married to the bathroom most of it.  Oh well, only two more months and then my body can start returning to normal.  And I'm excited.  Bloodwork today and tomorrow starts Round 9 of 12.  It seemed like an insurmountable mountain at the beginning but I'm learning to talk to  my mountain as I go through this process.

I've promised a couple of times to talk about "Morning Pages" and today is the day.  Way back when, I was at a standstill with my art career.  Someone suggested I read Julia Cameron's book, The Artist Way.  And I did.  Julia is a writer who hit a creativity block in her writing and came up with some exercises that helped her past her block.  One of the exercises is called "Morning Pages".  It is daily writing of three notebook pages, yes three, in the morning and, yes, every day. 

I know what you're going to say.  That's too much.  If you journal, most of you only journal a paragraph or two.  Morning Pages is not really journaling.  It is a way of clearing your mind so your creativity can come through.  If I run out of things to write about, I can start writing my shopping list or daily to dos.  Shortly my mind and my writing take me to another place to resolve whatever is bothering me or may be on my mind.  Many times I have started with a wrinkled forehead and grumpy face and by the time I'm finished, the forehead is smooth and I'm smiling, excited about the day to come.

I have not written Morning Pages through this journey up until last week.  I think perhaps I did not want to internalize what I was dealing with.  As long as I could keep it on the surface then there were certain aspects of the journey I could avoid thinking about.  Most of the posts I've written have dealt with the physical aspects of this journey and I've only occasionally delved into my true feelings.  That's mostly because, by avoiding,  I don't have to face my true feelings.  I wonder how that is going to change as I continue to write my Morning Pages?   I'll keep you posted.

Precious Lord, Jehovah Rapha,
Thank You for another glorious sunny, cool, and crisp day here on earth, the creation you imagined into being.
Thank You for my family, my friends, my church family, and the new friends I've made throughout this journey.
Father, I ask today for strength and energy for each of Your warriors fighting this dreaded enemy, cancer.  Bless them with the resolve to see the fight through to complete victory. 
I ask special blessings for friend Sharon as she goes through surgery for colon cancer tomorrow.  Be with the medical staff as they perform their version of miracles and with her family as they support her through her journey.
These things we ask in Jesus' precious name, the name above all names.
Amen