A Morning Page

Today, I present Guest Writer, Thia Tsurata who follows the practice of "Morning Pages" as suggested by Julie Cameron, author of The Artist's Way.

Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing,
done first thing in the morning.

This is an example of one of Thia's morning pages.

So I made up my mind that I would do this. Thanks to Aptos Writer's Group. I got the book, The Artist's Way and got going... I started the very first morning pages while visiting Mom and Frank in Montana.

Taka and Thia Tsurata

There were days after that, weeks and months, where I'd set my alarm to get up and write from 5am... and then be able to go back to bed hoping to doze off again- would loved to sleep again. However... the main idea was to be able to just wake with Taka to have breakfast together before sending him off to work. There were days, actually they felt like the middle of the night, when I'd awaken to pee and not be able to sleep again. So many nights... in the wee hours, anywhere from 3am and 5am, I'd write for an hour and take my homeopathic insomnia pills eventually with plans to sleep again. Or it'd be the nights of "dark regrets" that I knew I could spew out on these pages for my morning.

It took maybe a year before I trusted myself to get to the writing after Taka would leave for work. I'd get myself distracted too much sometimes and not really feel I was giving my pages the attention they deserved. But it's been an evolution. And I've learned to write in cars, in hotel bathrooms, while others slept, on planes... figuring out the time differences between Japan and the U.S.... two mornings in one day of looking like I missed a day on the return flight. But all I've missed has been half or a page in more than sixteen months and MAKING UP MY MIND to do this. Being ALLOWED and GETTING to do this has changed my life, my direction, my heart, my friends ... and the way I am now able to... how I am getting better able to express myself having taken this "course".

When my stepbrother this past October  asking me (another one of the many) what I'm doing now, I once again shyly... almost... really hesitantly... practically GUILTILY I try to say "Oh, well, I'm writing." Or when asked my job, I'm still uncomfortable saying I'm a writer. And stepbrother Jim, said with quite the firm conviction, "Ok so that is your job now.... so THAT is what you will spend 2-3 hours every day doing now cause it's your JOB!" And I nodded, feeling somewhat...like..."oh- yes-yes..." and beginning to feel this stirring of excitement "Yes!! My JOB now!!!"

Coincidentally....