actions speak louder
weekly story work exercise (and a few thoughts on creative practice)
If you’re new here, Story Work is the name of my current book-in-progress. It describes a process of reflecting, reclaiming, and reimagining the stories of our lives. It involves looking at your life experiences as creative material that you have the power to shape.
The weekly story work topics cover universal life themes with references from literature, philosophy, science, and spirituality; offering perspectives that spark ideas for personal growth and creative expression.
Paid subscribers receive Story Work exercises every Sunday night at 8 pm et.
Before I get into this week’s story work exercise, I’m sharing a few thoughts on what a creative practice is and why right now and always it’s so important to cultivate a practice that supports your well-being and builds resilience. I also want to remind you that this week I am facilitating one of my most requested workshops, Vulnerability in Personal Storytelling, on Wednesday, July 31 from 5 - 8 pm et. This session is free for subscribers and $40 for drop-ins.
Hi writers,
Yes, you are a writer and we are all writers when we recognize the power we have to craft our own stories. No, we can’t control every circumstance, and sometimes we feel helpless, but we do get to control how we respond and that is where our power lies.
We are all wired to create. We create stories, shelters, structures, systems, environments, communities, groups, platforms, livelihoods. I’m most fascinated by the stories and how they reflect our understanding of the world. Our stories become our individual and collective belief systems. Some build us up and promote unity, and some tear us down and provoke division.
I often wonder how people survive this trippy life experience without believing in something bigger, something boundless and all-inclusive. If you agree that we are all creators and that we co-create the world that we experience, then you understand why it’s essential to nurture a creative mindset and practice.
I’m talking about your creativity as a way of living, not a specific skill, hobby, or activity. Creativity, in the best case, is a spiritual practice: a rhythm of habits, activities, and rituals that you incorporate into your life that keep you attuned to your authentic power.
When nothing else in the world is certain, we need to get grounded.
This is why we practice.
We reflect. We write. We read. We gather. We plant. We pray. We visualize. We plan. We sing, we dance, we move. We make something out of nothing. It’s a way of being, a way of coping.
Have you ever, and have your parents ever, and have your grandparents and their grandparents ever lived in a time when the world was not burning in some way?
This is why we practice.
So we can have the energy and courage to use our gifts in service of what we value.
We may not be able to single-handedly end the hatred and ignorance in the world, but we can fortify ourselves in resistance to it. We can honor the needs of our minds, bodies, and souls, which empowers our creative energy, so we can show up for our families and communities.
In Life Visioning: A Transformative Process for Activating Your Unique Gifts and Highest Potential, author and spiritual teacher Michael Beckwith offers the following affirmation: “I’m available to what wants to evolve and emerge through me and I’m willing to practice and embody what it takes for it to do so.”
I don’t know about y’all, but my first instinct when the craziness in the world reaches a fever itch is to panic and catastrophize, but I know that reflex only makes everything heavier. When I catch myself spiraling for too long, I turn to my creative practice.
A creative practice is:
how you engage with your interests, obsessions, and passions
how you nurture your ideas
how you develop your skills and approach learning curves
how you get grounded and present
how you experiment with creative courage in public
how you indulge your curiosity and allow yourself to play
how you worship and practice gratitude
how you integrate your needs, temperament, challenges, and natural rhythms to design a life that inspires you
Committing to a creative practice that supports you through life’s ups and downs is an act of resistance and resilience. Protect what liberates you because when we dim our lights, they win.
Registration for the Inner Story Writing Circle Mastermind cohort is open. This August through October, I am facilitating this small group coaching cohort for writers and creatives who want to build purpose-driven platforms for their work with their words and stories. If that sounds like you, you can learn more and sign up here. In addition to the small group coaching and individual coaching sessions, you also get access to all the core Inner Story Writing Circle sessions during the three months you’re in the program. Spaces are limited.
Okay, now for this week’s story work exercise.