How To Avoid Feeling Homesick For The Self
I'm so happy to feature a guest blogger this month. Carol Walsh is a fellow author at She Writes Press and a friend. Carol's book, Painting Life: My Creative Journey Through Trauma will be available at the end of this month.Carol is a talented artist and writer who also happens to be a wonderful therapist. Do check out her website to find out more about her.
How To Avoid Feeling Homesick For The Self
If I have not been able to be creative, I feel homesick for my Self. I actually feel a physical sense of longing way down deep in the core of my gut. I feel lost. It’s also a feeling that’s reminiscent of my childhood.When I was a young girl, I couldn't go away for the night, or I would become homesick. This was a bit inhibiting; but I was sure that if I left home for too long I would be forgotten. I had to go back home to reclaim my space within the family.As an adult, feelings of homesickness emerge when I forget myself – that is, forget who I am and what I'm about. When I forget me, I need to touch base with my soul, my spirit, so I can reconnect with my Self.In this crazy, busy time, many of us forget to touch base with our core Self. We forget about our needs, priorities and values. When we aren’t in touch with ourselves, we can’t make effective choices, because there is no Us to turn to for information.When we are connected to our core, we can make conscious choices. This is so important because all choices need to reflect who we are -- our meaning and purpose in life.Creativity is a terrific way to access our core Self. As we mature, we have different needs and awareness’s and therefore we need to make different choices. Creativity helps us keep in touch with those changes.I love this quote from Sophia Loren: “There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”In general, it is best to pick one creative outlet that you can routinely engage in, to help you touch base with your inner Self. That will be one of healthiest habits you could add to your schedule – even if it is for one half hour, once a week. Try one of these exercises while asking yourself the question, What is my mission and purpose in this life?Exercise no.1. Get a journal (with no lines), or a blank piece of paper and then, with your non-dominant hand, write two sentences, one that begins with: “I am a ---.” Then write a second sentence that begin with: “My purpose in life is ----.“Exercise no. 2. Cut out a number of photos, from several magazines, that speak to you. Then arrange these in a pleasing way and glue them to a large piece of cardboard. While looking at the collage, ask yourself: “What does this say about who I am, and what my life mission is?”Exercise no. 3. On a blank sheet of paper and in a vertical column write the words like this:6 months,year 1,year 3,year 5year 10.Then, beside each time frame write two things you would like to manifest during that time. On a new page, begin with the items in the six months category, and note the first three action steps you need to take to achieve each of these. Thank you Carol! And now I'd like to close with another She Writes Press fellow author, and one of the founders of SWP, Brooke Warner. If you are thinking about writing your own memoir, Brooke's book, Green Light Your Book is a must! Here's a video about it: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5E7pnbYI3o[/embed] I’d love to hear about how you stay connected to your creativity and thus to your self. And as always thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it.