Write It Out: Instruction Video
“January and February passed, and were easier to get through than usual because the weather was so bad that the school was closed more often than it was open. At the beginning of March there was a blizzard that blew for ten straight days, and doing the most basic farm chores was so difficult and so unendurably cold that Arthur almost – though not quite – thought that being at school might be a nice rest. Snow piled up against the north side of the house and barns until it reached the roofs, which at least gave them some protection against the howling and demented wind. It buried the pig shed altogether, not once but again and again. Every morning they had to dig down to find it, as if the pigs were victims of an avalanche. It felt like an avalanche, felt as if the entire North Pole was sliding down to bury them.”
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I can only tell you what is true for me. Although there are many and I may write about others, the story is about myself.
There are things I am expected to know. To just know. Like a secret I have never been told, although I know there is a secret. It is the key to everything, but I can’t begin to guess at it. I just have to know.
I need to write to help uncover more of myself, for myself. Like an archaeologist uses a brush to dust away dirt and find hidden fragments of an earlier life, my pen and paper slowly fill in those blanks of my ancient, mysterious self and help me to make sense of it all.
The wind is like breath in the trees – a heavy sigh, long and drawn out. Exasperated. Like me as I write to uncover my own truth.
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The end of 2020… finally?! How was 2020 and the Pandemic for you? Did it impact you profoundly or very little? Were you happy to hibernate or were you frustrated with the limitations of the lock downs? Share your thoughts here!
Thank you for this prompt Monique. I let it sit for a while and this is what came:
Heavy is the word that I most associate with deep. It takes weight to sink down. I still try to make myself heavy when I am floating in the lake. I expel my breath and imagine that I can exist below the surface as I slowly sink under to find the peaceful and quiet sandy bottom.
When I allow myself to be heavy, I can take myself deeper. When my heart is heavy, when there are things nagging on my brain, when my body feels like a weighted blanket, that’s when I seem to be able to drill into my soul. That’s where the wellspring of my feelings, words and visualizations flow.
…TBC
This is just the beginning of my piece and I wanted to share as a way of saying thanks for inspiring me.
Thanks so much for sharing, Kyla. Your imagery is beautiful, peaceful. I love the positive connotation in your use of ‘heavy’… your sharing that your heaviness can help you connect to a deeper part of yourself. You inspire me, as well!