i am hearing from people who want to join in and do creative journaling, but feel unsure about how to start, and maybe even a little afraid, so i wanted to address that here.
first, take a look back to part one of creative journaling, where i talked about setting up your creative space. this is the first thing i do to overcome creative fears in my workshops – create a space that supports and nurtures creativity. this is a really important step. what we are wanting to do here is encourage so much inspiration and creativity that they become larger and more powerful than our fears and nervousness.
then re-read the creative journaling guidelines. this is another important piece in getting ready to begin. read them slowly, let them really sink in. can you truly agree to follow these guidelines? the heart of the guidelines is about giving yourself permission to express and to play. to do it just for the sake of doing it, not to “do it right” or create great works or art, but to express.
now that you have put out a clear invitation to your creativity and set your clear intention to go on this creative journaling adventure, you can trust that whatever feelings come up for you are the right feelings for you to have right now. they are the feelings that will guide you in your creative journaling.
the only right way to start is to start where you’re at right now.
so where are you at?
if you feel nervous, write about feeling nervous. make a list of all the reasons why you are nervous. deocrate it. what colour is nervous for you? do any nervous images come to mind? put them in your journal.
when i have any kind of uncomfortable feeling, i love bringing it to my journal. letting it out, seeing what it has to say and what it looks like. so if you are not sure about getting started with creative journaling, i suggest just starting. put a mark on the page. listen to your inner voice, express why you’re not sure, express what you’re afraid of, let it out and see where it goes.
you know that every journey begins with a single step. page one of your creative journal is simply that – page one. you will be amazed at where you can go with this, if you simply begin right where you are right now.
