New Balance

"Contemplating Intangible Things, Like 'Love' and 'Spirit'"
from 'Key Word' exercise in "The Creative Journal"

I had a wonderful conversation with Marsha Nelson (head CJEA supervisor) today... discussing, in part, my need to put the journal down for a bit. I was feeling very conflicted about this, feeling that I was copping out of breaking through this overwhelming wave of FUNK that had come up recently. I'm one to put my armor on and go to battle until the war is won, and I find myself so beaten down and weary at the end I can't enjoy the victory. So I tried something different, which probably would not have occured to me had I not been introduced to Creative Journal. So, Marsha gave me confirmation that it is okay, well warranted, and ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to put the journal down for a while. She mentioned that if someone who is doing this work continues at such an intense pace they are likely to burn out and stop doing the work altogether. I actually had that thought... but I worked through it. Since resuming my journaling, I've made a conscious effort to not be so intense about it. Shit comes up and it has to heal in its own time... fussing over a wound too much can make it worse. Sometimes you just have to put a band-aid over it and LEAVE IT ALONE for a little while.