Showing Up

September 23, 2021

What is your mood today? I’ve been moving between different ones lately, but with the arrival of autumn my mood feels lighter. Cooler air has a way of lifting the weight of care and refreshing my spirit. I think I’ve been in recovery mode since the end of summer, and now I’m feeling stronger. I’m ready for something new to emerge. Julia Cameron has a chapter about mood in The Right to Write. She encourages us to make writing a casual, daily thing, regardless of our mood. It’s too easy to tell ourselves that we’re not in the mood for writing or other creative activities. She says that if we just show up on the page and begin, something will come to us, and the current will start to flow. It’s like opening the door to that which wants to be expressed through us. “Let your writing be itself. Give it love and it will surprise you” (p.36). What if we applied this to every creative endeavor, including our daily routine? Instead of waiting for the "right" mood to move us in any direction, we can take one simple step forward. We may need to get out of our heads and into our hearts, or pick up the pen and get the ink flowing onto the page. Julia says writing can put us in a better mood; we just need to get started and let it happen. I've found that facing the day with a sense of adventure, gratitude, and fun also puts me in a better mood. The first step is to move past any resistance, weariness, and anxiety. I just put one foot in front of the other and suddenly the door swings open. Wisdom and Love are there, waiting in the foyer. When we step up, show up, and surrender, the Universe surprises us. Julia recommends establishing a creative routine like casual writing each day. Perhaps you’d rather draw, paint, arrange flowers, cook, or garden. These activities help us to value our experience as we pay “active witness to ourselves and to our world. Such witness is an act of dignity, an act that recognizes that life is essentially a sacred transaction of which we know only the shadow, not the shape. As we attune ourselves more and more closely to the value of passing moments, we learn that we are something of moment ourselves” (p.50). I've mentioned that writing has helped me to be more present, to notice more within and around me. Showing up is about bringing ourselves and our full attention to something. Deepak Chopra says this: “Being has infinite power, and you are pure Being at your core. Connect to it through meditation, through joyful acceptance of the present moment, and always through Love. Let the light of pure awareness be the transformative power in your life.” When we are grounded in the present, creative energy flows and we discover something new. Writing is one avenue, but creativity can use any channel we choose. “Writing, when we let ourselves do it, is like breathing. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It need only be regular and steady. That is deep enough. That takes us deeper” (The Right to Write, p. 52). This fall, find a creative routine that grounds you each day. It will soften the soil of your mind and heart so your roots can grow deeper. As you continue to show up, you will reach and tap the source of inspiration. Be willing. Be patient with yourself. Push past the flimsy factor of mood and just do it. Love and Wisdom will greet you and illuminate your true colors. Shine On, ej Elisa J. Juarez