Receiving and Letting Go..

Lost and Found: 

I found this little metal heart with a message on it on one of my recent walks!

So I am realizing that I'm so used to being an introvert, that blogging is not something that comes naturally. I have this sense that I must externalize my thoughts and feelings a bit more and get over the idea that nobody really cares one iota what I think or have to say. I know that is not entirely true, but there is a voice in my head that says it.. Is that my ego, my inner critic or my censor that Julia Cameron refers to? I think I'm starting to identify that voice! I need to become more adept at naming it and telling it to go fly a kite while I write, paint or whatever! 

Sunlight through the trees at Columbia Park in North Portland
 

I just finished listening to Rebecca Solnit's "Recollections of my Non-Existence" read with her own sweet, articulate voice and cadence. It was validating and healing, inspiring and motivating to start to write and speak more freely about my own experiences. I especially loved how she described what it was like to be in a woman's body and though she was thin, she perfectly described how looks and size has permeated our value as women throughout our lives and the lives every woman since I don't know when. I know other feminist writers and poets have written about beauty, but her words resonated with me deeply. 

I'm happy to be embarking on my new quest as a writer. I've kept journals since I was 12, but I am ready to start sharing my stories with the world. Perhaps they will find the right connections and be of some value to those who read my words.