First Time Blogger

Why pen to paper? Of all the things I’ve written, ‘blog post’ has never been one. I’ve penned letters to myself. My journal entries went from empathy to anger like they were people, in hopes I could undo the constant wrestle. I’ve written letters to ex’s; boyfriends, my mom, friends and feelings. Not all made it to the mailbox. 

But never a blog post.  So here goes.

I am not a writer. Or at least in the formal, published, gets paid for it way. But I’ve been connecting pen to paper for years.  

Messaging

Let’s face it. We live in a very busy, wildly stimulating digital world. Despite years of teaching yoga, trying to juggle running a company and work-life balance – I found myself in a really bad mental place. It was post-election and our entire country had just experienced a new, transformative, and slightly scary shift in the way we connected with one another. Social Media was no longer images of puppies and a means to stay connected friends from college, but a weapon used by advertisers, politicians and major corporations to stir us. 

Messages and salacious headlines designed whip us into anger or compassion, all in efforts to sell their agenda. Sure, we’ve had advertising for centuries – but now we were connected to it an aggressively, emotional way. SoI logged off. 

Journaling

I reverted to an age-old remedy that worked brilliantly when I was 12. I grabbed a sparkly little diary with a lock and began to write.  Putting pen to paper has always been a place of solace. The few moments between the pages allowed me to navigate the angst-filled school years (man those were ugly), countless heartbreaks (and counting) and the gentle reminders that I was prepared to thrive in the corporate world (you go girl, you can do it!). When things got crazy, I always came back and put pen to paper. It gave me a way to connect, calm and course correct. 

There’s a whole lot of science behind the benefits of an active writing practice. While I don’t write daily and only commit 7 minutes to each session (I know! It doesn’t need to be a whole big thing), I come back to the page each time I need to lighten the load, untwist a knot or make myself laugh a little. Here’s why you should too: