running into a new year

reflection prompts on creative courage + deadline extended

Hi community,

I have been under the weather for the past couple of days, so our weekly story work exercise will be delivered tomorrow by 8 pm et. I am extending the Creative Courage registration deadline until tomorrow night, as well.

In the meantime, here are some creative courage-inspired reflection prompts from my archives based on Lucille Clifton’s poem, “i am running into a new year”.

…

“I am running into a new year and the old years blow back like a wind that I catch in my hair like strong fingers like all my old promises and it will be hard to let go of what I said to myself about myself when I was sixteen and twenty-six and thirty-six but I am running into a new year and I beg what I love and I leave to forgive me.”

― Lucille Clifton

"...the old years blow back like a wind that I catch in my hair..."

• What triggers and uncomfortable memories come up when you think about your creative journey?

• What failures, rejections, and disappointments from the past are you projecting onto your future?

"...it will be hard to let go of what I said to myself about myself."

• Do you have a vision of yourself that is blurred by old labels, assumptions, promises, defeats, and limitations?

• Are you holding onto the idea that you're not creative enough or that you don't finish what you start or other false claims from your inner critic?

• Are you holding yourself back from your creative visions because of how your fuller expression will affect your relationships?

"...I beg what I love and I leave to forgive me.”

• In what ways have you diminished your authentic self to conform to expectations?

• What familial and cultural rules have diminished your full expression? In what ways do you follow these rules and to what extent do they restrict you?

• How would it feel to be creatively uninhibited and trust the shifts and realignments that this creates in your life and relationships?

Feel free to share the reflections that come up for you in the comments. I would love to hear how you use the prompts.