Why I Show Up

Publishing at 77

Showing UP

For five minutes every morning I show up on the page.

Using a prompt I learned from Jeannine Ouellette’s Writing in the Dark, I set my timer for 5 minutes and begin to notice the things around me—the sofa bed, the lounge chair, the candle I lit when I first got up.

I don’t try to connect things. I just briefly describe my surroundings using phrases separated by commas. It’s a simple activity which somehow strengthens my writing. I don’t understand how it works but my writing has gotten better.

I also write by hand on paper—a legal pad. I date each entry and even though I sit in the same chair in the same room each morning, I seem to find something different every day.

The key is noticing.

One morning I looked up at the lighting in the ceiling which is recessed. Later I wrote an essay about the word ‘recessed’ and how many different meanings one word can have.

Ouellette suggests when the five minutes of paying attention are up, scan your phrases and see if there might be a different way of looking, a uniqueness about your phrasing, such as my recessed lighting. Or the zig zag designs on my throw pillows which led me to write a flash piece about dancing pillows.

Depending on time, another part of the exercise is adding the words ‘I am’ to your phrase. “I am recessed lighting,” and how that might be true of you.

Paying attention begins by showing up. According to systems thinker Otto Scharmer, author of Theory U, “attention if deepened gives rise to intention and intention if deepened has agency.”

When we have agency, we look for a container where we can come together, and new possibilities open up.

Showing up doesn’t have to be writing, you can show up for a friend, show up for your child, show up for your relationship. Showing up leads to paying attention. What/who do you show up for? Let me know in the COMMENTS.

Thank you for subscribing to Get Gutsy. I appreciate your encouragement of my writing.

Remember, there’s no expiration on dreams,

Trish

Link to order my book, PAPER BAGS: HTTPS://woodhallpress.com/paper-bags