Two weeks ago I was fortunate enough to meet up with some friends in LA for the weekend. In a moment of recovery from the southern California sun, we sat in the shade of a backyard gazebo doing the quiet catching up that is the mortar of friendships.
What do you do to de-stress?
My friend posed this question and we went around the circle about what we tried. At first I said something about the meditation I do occasionally to quiet my brain before bed. When this was met with glazed eyes I remembered that what I do when I’m really stressed is write. Specifically with a pen on a paper. I’ll just pour out the nagging-mostly-negative thoughts in my head until my hand is cramped and my brain can’t think of one more bad thing to say that I haven’t already written. It’s kind of like giving my brain a good scrub. Like putting the thoughts somewhere else so I can finally feel some relief.
With this reflection, I also realized I haven’t been writing in months and-isn’t-that-sad? I write of emails. I say more than my share of text in the group chat…but not really writing for fun. To add to this pang of guilt, I’ve been listening to The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher and she’s such a charming writer. She read bits from her diary at 19-years-old and it was so totally impressive. Having articular thoughts on the world? Reflections on your life that are poetic?! How does she do it all?
I know I can’t say everything that’s on my mind, but why not say more and feel better?
Here’s to writing about righting oneself.