october writing prompts + free workshop on friday

plus, the risk of being misunderstood

Oct 01, 2024

Hi friends,

It’s time for a fresh list of prompts. I don’t know what this month holds for us, but I will be writing my way through. How about you?

I was thinking today about how meditative writing is for me and wondering what I would do without it. Sometimes I wonder if I rely on it too much, especially when I find myself having a hard time expressing myself verbally.

I recently gathered up my courage and had a difficult conversation that I desperately needed and dreaded at the same time. I suspected that I would be misunderstood, and I was right, but I still needed to say what I had to say. I have a history of sacrificing my own reality in this particular relationship in order to make this person feel safe in theirs, and at my full-grown age of almost 47 years old, I am finally learning how to stand my ground and let the chips fall.

We can’t control how people respond to us or how they interpret our words. This uncertainty used to silence me, but now I find it liberating. I find that the more fully expressed I am in my life, the more soundly I sleep at night.

And what’s crazy is that even as I am celebrating being radically honest and true to myself, every day there are more blind spots to discover, more layers to explore.

The real risk is self-betrayal. I would rather be misunderstood than silent.

I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood. — Audre Lorde

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write with us

Join us this Friday, October 4 from 7 - 8 pm et for our monthly freewriting workshop using the prompts above. We gather to start off the month in creative community as we write to clear our minds and express what’s in our hearts. New faces are always welcome.