“Oh” she said, “you’re the Clare who wrote that book!” Yep, that’s my heart-and-soul served up between the covers.
It’s always a weird moment when relative strangers suddenly “know” so much about me, someone who’s generally introvert and definitely doesn’t blow their own trumpet. I’m both uncomfortable and heartened at such times – the sarcastic part in me drawling “yeah, right” and the humble part able to absorb the acknowledgment, saying “thank you, how kind.”
Within forty-eight hours, two more people thanked me for Love & Imperfection and suddenly, from being in the background for some time, creative writing is front and centre again. I’ve rejoined a weekly creative writing group and am curious what may come to form with that kind of support. Not that I really enjoy writing prompts, I don’t, but I do acknowledge having someone skilled guide me in new ways of approaching words and committing them to paper is tremendously helpful.
When it comes to writing, it’s easy to say “just prioritise it!” One way to do this is follow Julia Cameron’s practice of morning pages in The Artist’s Way (updated January 2024). Of these she says: “Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream-of-consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. They’re not supposed to be “good”; they just need to get done.” I will be honest and say this just isn’t the practice for me. My body needs to move, be outside in nature, tend to my spiritual life and consciousness first thing. I share this because figuring out your very own practices, those unique to who you are and your particular circumstances, that’s what is important to me as a somatic coach. Someone said to me recently “I keep looking for The Answer (as if there were one) in other people’s books and podcasts, thinking if I just do what they do, it’ll work out. And now it occurs to me that those are their practices, not mine, I need to find my own.” Hallelujah!
[My private practice has a waiting list at the moment, but you’re always welcome to reach out and enquire if anything has changed].