the artist way

Journaling is how I taught myself to write. And yes. I have taken some classes over the years as a girl and as a young woman, mostly creative writing classes. Those types of classes definitely came from my mom‘s influence. I would say, though, the biggest influence in my writing has been me. Simply the practice of writing. I have two bins in my upstairs closet full of old journals and diaries. They start when I was five years old up until the past couple of years.

I never thought too much about the power of journaling. Then I went through The Artist Way for the first time.

In this program the author asks you to start journaling first thing in the morning every day for three pages. Now, for some that seems like a lot. For instance, Mr. Sexy found the idea of three pages wildly overwhelming. Then I smirked a bit when I noticed his journal was about half the size of mine. I tend to easily fill up all three pages with my scribbles. Although, I’m being totally honest with you right now. My goal these days is to simply journal first thing in the morning. Put pen to paper for one page. That doesn’t always happen lately.

Writing forces me to face so many things that I would prefer to hide from.

The thing is, I do notice when I skip my morning writing time. And I skip a lot lately. I mean, you get it, right? Who really wants to wake up to an early alarm, switch on the light and blindly grab for notebook and pen. In fact, not being able to easily locate a pen has stopped my journal process lots of times. It’s truly the best way to start my day though. Those 20 to 30 minutes is my brain dump time. Any nightmares, icky feelings, those thoughts that follow me around all day starting first thing in the morning. Putting all of those things down on paper, getting them out of my head, off my chest and essentially to God, brings comfort, peace and direction.

I always thought of journaling as being something for me, to me. Basically it’s all about me. What I have come to decide for myself is that it’s not just about me when I put my private thoughts down on paper. It’s actually a communication between God and myself. I don’t need to write out, “Dear God,” or use any kind of special words. I can just write I’m thinking – which he already knows anyways.

And when I put them on paper, it’s an act of worship, of love, obedience!

I have had a lot of friends who say they hate writing. They claim they could not and would not ever be able to journal. I’m always sad to hear those kinds of statements because, well, they blocked! To put it bluntly. And if you are one of those friends, go grab The Artist Way! Get started on discovering your own creativity! Because you ARE a creative! Everybody is a creative in their own way. Mathematician, painter, interior decorator, gardener, plumber, restaurant manager, CEO, stay at home mom, pilot, office assistant – any profession has creative elements to it.

For me, there’s some types of creativity that feel more natural. Over the past couple years I have realized a few creative outlets from my past that I let go of. Then a few creative interests I have never allowed myself to indulge in. It has been very humbling to try different things. Like painting. Per my homework from The Artist Way last year, I grabbed some tequila, paint, and canvas. I sat outside under a tree painting some flowers. Even though my painting looks like a child’s masterpiece, I cherish that memory. I was so out of my element, trying to be creative in a way I never considered myself to be.

As unnerving as it can feel, there is a feeling of freedom and empowerment in those type of experiences.

Have you ever experienced anything like that?

When was the last time?

Take a moment and let me know what it was either in the comments here or message me. If you can’t remember an experience like this, I highly recommend it. It doesn’t have to be painting either. Perhaps for you it could be the art of journaling, playing an instrument, making a collage from old magazines, sewing, knitting, community theater… I could go on and on and on and on.

There are so many skills and talents that you can create for yourself.

Just like my talent of writing. Learning to write for me was not natural. You should see some of my earliest journal entries. I have been practicing writing for many many many years. Yes, it’s a talent. A talent I continue to practice and now, finally, I’m starting to use these skills for a purpose bigger than me. And I think that’s what a lot of people are missing out on these days.

Divine purpose.

And we all have a divine purpose that is bigger than ourselves. It’s just that so often our fears hold us back and stop us from moving forward. I just can’t say enough about The Artist Way. I believe it’s what led me to work with Brand Builder’s Group. It’s how I realized some pretty big dreams that I have carried for a long time. Do you know what? Those dreams may not even be for me, though. They may be for one of my own kids to grow into from my leadership as their mom. Either way, what an exciting life to live. Don’t you want that too?

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Email Jessica B. your questions: Jessica@jessicaleighbiles.com