This Week In Funny Bunny…: the Morning Pages

Posted February 12, 2016 at 8:00 am

And now for something completely different! A short vignette of the Natalie morning.

I roll out of bed at 6 am, and shuffle into the living room, letting the rabbits run out of their cage in the process. “Blurghhhh!” I say, and pour myself a 16 oz glass of water. I down that while I’m waiting for the water to heat for coffee and also spend the time doing a short, 1 minute meditation to just get the day started. After I make the coffee, I go to my desk, I put in a pair of earplugs (and a pair of ear protection muffs for the extra 5-10 db of sound protection, I can barely hear the security alarm!), and I write.

I write for 3 solid pages, anything that comes to mind, as quickly as I can. This usually takes 40 minutes to an hour, depending on how distracted or sluggish my brain is that day.

These are called “the Morning Pages,” which I first learned about from the book, The Artist’s Way by Julie Cameron. I actually sat down and did the full Artist’s Way course, but it’s very hippie dippie, definitely not for everyone. However, the one thing that has stuck with me for over a year now is these pages. It sounds bizarre, but these are essential to my mental health.

When I write do this writing without exception, what I’ve found is that I’m very self-indulgent, bitter, caustic. I’m mean, I’m disjointed, I’m all over the place. I’m hateful towards the day for existing, I’m hateful towards myself for not doing this, or that, I’m wondering why I can’t have more coffee right now… I’m quoting Hamilton lyrics left and right these days (this morning was Dear Theodosia…) And, well, frankly, I write a lot of the same things, over and over. And this repetitive writing is where the magic is.

As you write the same criticisms about yourself or others daily for long enough, you begin to find yourself looking for some way to fix it. Last year, I noticed that I was writing, everyday, “God, I got up late again. I’m so lazy, I can’t believe how dumb I am” or something along those lines. And you know, after you’ve written the same time for a month or two, you kind of get tired of hearing it from yourself, and you start writing instead… “What can I do about it? What if I just got up earlier?” It took a full year of manifestation, but I’m not writing about how late I get up anymore – I’m actually complimenting myself and it’s a relief.

(The trick that ended up working for me? Setting a wake up “window” – I let myself wake up between 5 – 8 am without judging myself, and this manages to get me out of bed in the morning, usually at 6!)

Now, I’m not writing this to say that you should be like me and voluntarily get up early, but I am writing to remind all of us…We’re not stuck with who we are. We can always find a way to fit change into our lives, and a lot of the time, what’s holding us back is just a thought. It just took the me inside my morning pages nagging me endlessly to realize it!

P.S. REAL TALK! No, I’m not perfect! This happens most of the time, but not everyday forever and ever! Nooooope!