"Writing helps open you up. It is peeling the onion. We always get deeply into other layers as we pull the one from the outside off. We even get tears sometimes when we do that." --Judy Goodson

I thought Judy was speaking such words of wisdom when she said that. Later, I found out that others agreed with her comparison...Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, Carl Sandberg is quoted saying, "Life is like an onion. You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep." Wow. Judy and Carl Sandberg...who'd have known?!?

Today Judy and I got together and discussed how writing is a practice. Thinking about the similarities between writing, life, and onions, we recognize how all three have layers and bring out emotion.

We talk about how we aren't going for perfection in our writing. We use it as a practice. The writing gets us into a writer's awareness of the world and our experiences in it.

Next, we get into what we do when we feel resistance to writing and how common that resistance is when it's time to write. We actually have begun to expect resistance and just...do it anyway!

We give ourselves permission to write whatever comes. It's even ok to let the worst junk come through our pens and sit on the page.

Later we move into Judy's process to write poetry.

Wrapping up this session, Judy and I talk about how writing fits within the concept of the "blue zones". It helps us in a meditative kind of way. It helps us downshift and become more aware of our own minds. It also connects us with our right tribe--people who are interesting to us and interested in us. Writing helps us bond with others who are like-minded.