Journaling

I actually sat down and wrote FOUR (yes, four) pages in my previously untouched journal this afternoon.

Thanks to Ruth and to Diane. Ruth for mentioning on several occasions The Artist's Way, which I need to take but urges the discipline of writing three pages a day to get into the habit of daily writing (from what I understand). Thanks to Diane for turning me onto Bill Holm. Today I simply could not hold back and wrote and wrote, then put the journal down and picked it up again, just to write more.

You have no idea how huge this is. I've not written anywhere except on this blog, which is edited for an audience, for three years. I journaled daily when I took a seminary class taught by Kathy Staudt called Spiritual Writing. I took my journal with me everywhere and wrote about lots of stuff, including a day spent at the VA hospital in Washington DC and the bus ride to get there. Also, during that time, I wrote a short story about a situation that the military put several of us in that was not complementary of the supposedly supportive military "that takes care of its own." My story's response was BULLSHIT! We took care of each other and forgot the military.

At the end of the class, though, T came home from his deployment in support of GWB's War on Terror and the writing stopped.

Hmmm.

Of course as soon as I sat down to write, T came downstairs and started talking to me. He'd been napping for an hour. I still got out 4 pages. I have to make the decision that I will not let him distract me, and set limits. I had to do that during the year I was in seminary and will have to do that now.

Hang with me, brothers and sisters.