The TW attacks: Day One

The Tortured Writer continues her journey:

Day One:

Upon picking up the book The Sound of Paper by Julia Cameron I observe a few things. The cover is not spectacular. It has trees and birds; a lot of brown. It is somewhat fitting as I don’t feel so spectacular with my writing either. At the bottom of the cover it says Starting from Scratch. This makes me nod my head in agreement. I feel like at this point I have done something to lose my direction, my creativity, my luster for writing. Perhaps I need to start from scratch as well.

Opening the book leads me to another somewhat bland but softer page. It isn’t the regular paper feel. It’s glossy, more artistic in a simple way page. It’s heading begins ‘in order to make art…’

It then states we must live an artful life. We must live a life that is rich enough and diverse enough to fuel us.

I must admit at first I thought I don’t live any type of rich, diverse life. I teach full time and I am about to start my second job working at a hotel (a rehired position). These students around me have lives. The guests I’ll be around have lives as well. Shouldn’t I be able to live my life enough around this to write? That is what I think originally.

And then I recognize that I would still have a sheltered life. I would be living through others and that is not enough to fuel a diverse life that deserves writing about. I have said often that I do not like Louisville. And yet, I know that there is a world of culture out there and I don’t even have to travel far to get that culture.

So today I have decided I will, at least once a week, make the effort to get out of my bubble and visit the city I live in, walk the sidewalks, observe the beauty, and I know there is beauty to be found, and as Julia says, ‘bloom where we are planted’.

Blessings, 

Michala

(the tortured writer)