I don’t know how long it has been since we have had three days of rain in July in Bakersfield, but it must have been long, long ago if it happened at all since people have been taking track of such happenings.
Last night there was even thunder and lightning and… oh, no… THUNDER! I love thunder now, even loud crashing thunder we don't get here in Bakersfield. We get more of the rumbling, slightly far away thunder always out on the edges of the horizon.
Last night's thunder reminded me of my days in childhood when I ran away from lightning bugs crying “thunder, thunder!”
People who read my twitter feed may have noticed a rising tide of anxiety in my messages. Last Thursday I wrote,
“Dear Self, Waking up at 4 am due to anxiety about situations you can not control... oh, honey. Shhhh. Shhhh. Shhhh. Love, Your Self.”
I am about to start a couple nearly back-to-back road trips and to say I am anxious is… I wish I had a better cliché to throw on the page - an understatement. There are few things I love more than the wide open road and a loosely held plan, but I can feel the ache and the worry for these trips in my shoulder blades.
My right shoulder blade, right now, is tingling. That is fear spelled “shoulder blade ache”.
The writings of Martha Graham taught me the body always stands in truth. My job is to listen and respond to the truth it speaks. My body is telling me, “Julie, you are binding yourself in anxiety. You need to let your anxiety free, you need to note it and either use it in some creative way or release it to the divine.”
I wrote those words and a gentle breeze floated within me.
I realize I have a half century of being anxious to settle.
I imagine I have quite a bit of pre-language anxiety as well which may be more of a challenge and may, in fact, be at the core of my chronic unsettled nature.
This is simply who I have become over all these years. Not bad, not good, not different than many - it simple is who I have become and now, I need to do some polishing and gleaming up and away of what certainly doesn’t have room in my life.
Rain is a miraculous thing.
Three days of rain in July in Bakersfield. I never thought I would see that day. Maybe we can start with attempting three days free of anxiety in me.
I’m willing to give it a go.
Adventures in Minimizing Anxiety - here we come.
To shift away from anxiety and into peace, I will:
1. Create a series of poses/movements of release when I feel anxiety rising within me.
2. Continue with my daily writing and art practice. Face the anxiety that is reappearing via the creative process.
3. Let selected friends and loved ones know I am working on this so that they may help me along this three day playful experiment in minimizing anxiety.
What three simple steps might help you minimize your anxiety?
If you would like to borrow mine and mold them to make them your own, please do so.
Let me know how it goes.
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Julie Jordan Scott inspires people to experience artistic rebirth via her programs, playshops, books, performances and simply being herself out in the world. She is a writer, creative life coach, speaker, performance poet, Mommy-extraordinaire and mixed-media artist whose Writing Camps and Writing Playgrounds permanently transform people's creative lives. Watch for the announcement of new programs coming in September 2015 and beyond.
To contact Julie to schedule a Writing or Creative Life Coaching Session, call or text her at 661.444.2735.
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