Today was my 370th morning page. Morning pages are supposed to help writers keep the creativity alive. The rules are:
1. Write as soon as you wake up
2. At least 3 longhand pages – I have to write on my phone due to hand pain with a pen
3. Don’t look over what you are writing, don’t stop to correct anything
4. Never go back and read them
5. Keep under lock n key – no one ever sees them
Morning Pages & Me
Today I celebrate one year and 5 days of morning pages without ever missing a day. Throughout this experience I have come to believe morning pages are not just for writers. Morning pages develops who you are and how you feel in ways and places within yourself that you never knew existed. 370 morning pages on this phone, and I have not gone back and looked at a single one. People often question that. Unless you do this consistently, and follow the rules, this probably wouldn’t make sense to you. I found that not correcting as I wrote and never going back to read them afforded me tremendous freedom. Freedom that allows for self-exploration. Freedom that allows anxieties to be released from my mind before the day even begins. Your thoughts are your own and private within your mind, but they are not organized. They swish around in there and anxiety keeps them circling in a tail-chasing manner. Being able to empty them onto the paper, in total freedom, knowing that not even you are ever going to read them, makes all the difference in the world. And, for the writer, I do have to say it definitely keeps you fluid. I honestly don’t think I could’ve kept up this blog daily, and so easily, if it weren’t for my morning pages.
This morning I’m in Boston, waking up over coffee and oatmeal along the Charles River, celebrating a deep appreciation for my 370th morning page.
And so, as another day begins to go by, Eccl 1:7 again comes into play – “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but one of power, love, and self-discipline”, today, self-discipline shines bright, and…I have written.
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