LOL. I had to laugh when I saw that I checked in for Week 10 on March 21st. That was nearly seven months ago, and I haven’t even been letting this sit on the proverbial back burner. It’s just that I’ve had so many other things going on that I only get to it once in a while. That in itself is an exercise in Autonomy (Independence) – studying at my own pace.
MORNING PAGES: I first started doing them 2 years before I started Week 11 for this second go-round. I’m still at it. I don’t feel the need to rid myself of extra words EVERY single morning anymore, but I have filled 364 sheets of notebook paper over the past 210 days, and that averages out to 1.7 pages per day, so I’m keeping up. In fact, when we went to Europe this summer, I didn’t write a single “morning page” (my ramblings and affirmation, etc), but I did fill an entire journal with our travelogues and my impressions of Nice, Florence, Rome, Venice, Lake Maggiore, Lucerne, Paris, Calais, Dover, London, and everywhere in between. Then when my mom and I went to Maine, I kept another journal of that trip, and she thought it was cool, so I bought her a journal, too. She started Artist’s Way many years ago, probably when it first came out, so she knows about morning pages and did them for a while. She told me keeping her journal reminded her of that.
EXERCISES: By the time I was done, my Chapter 11 re-write was sectioned off into seven exercises, most of which are outlined in the book. My rendition of Week 11 is 22 pages long, while the original is only 13. This is significant to me because I already did this once and, really, completing it again is simply accomplishing Task 10 of Week 12. The first time I went through the book, my writing was in a little journal, 56 pages total. I am studying myself much more carefully this time.
This time through Week 11, I concentrated on one particular area of difficulty in my life that needs better Autonomy (self-government). My favorite reminder was no matter what my goal is, I should go at it like a beginner. ;)
TASKS: OK, 1, 2, and 3 were stupid drivel and a waste of time. Julia Cameron asking people to worship her instead of finding their own things to stand for. Whatever. I changed them around to suit my needs. Task 4 was enlightening. I liked the part on page 85 where she says that writing morning pages symbolizes a willingness to communicate with God. That’s what my affirmation does for me. Well, that’s what prayer and daily scripture study do for me, but my affirmation acknowledges His Hand in my Life and I write it IN my morning pages every day. I dutifully wrote out Tasks 5, 6, and 7, and did find a good insight. I’ve changed my daily routine to include working on my 43T goals, so a year from now, my Life List should look a LOT different. That will be interesting. The letter for Task 8 turned into a package full of goodies that will help me achieve my various art goals, but I didn’t mail it. No sense in wasting the money. I was outraged at Task 9. Julia Cameron is cracked. “Re-examine your God concept” ?! God is not a “concept” that can be rearranged to suit a mood. I know Him. He gave each one of us Life and all things exist to remind us that He loves us. Just look around. God does help those who help themselves—like this: Here’s all the Joy in the Universe. Help Yourself! I’ll make more. Too many people leave the blessings sitting on the table. Task 10 allowed me to ponder on some of mine.
ARTIST’S DATE: Oh, my goodness. What have I done since last March that wasn’t an Artist Date?! I made several gorgeous flower arrangements for a church conference in April and got tons of compliments, even from people I didn’t know. I had wedding flowers, sewing projects and my Spring piano recital in May. We went to Europe in June, primarily Italy, and if going to the place where Art was invented and learning about the old Masters isn’t an Artist Date, I don’t know what is! A camping trip in July was very nurturing. The trip to Maine in August was for a painting class, so that was an Artist Date anyway. Plus, my mom and I had a blast exploring Maine and New Hampshire together. I made a wedding cake in September, which used my artistic skill as well as my very last ounce of patience. And just last weekend, I finished editing my daughter’s book. My life has been full and full of nice things and that’s why it took seven months to do one “week” worth of activities in The Artist’s Way. :D
ISSUES: Heh, heh. Well, I know I do NOT want to go into the wedding cake business.
SYNCHRONICITY: Everything! Everything works together to bring me the things I want and need. I get what I focus on, which is the FACT that Life is BIG and wonderful and trials are there for me to prove that I am strong, and blessings are there to remind me that trials pass anyway. Oh, and this quote: Time flies whether you’re having fun or not.