I’m in week 2 of The Artist’s Way – a 12 week course to unleash my creativity.
Each morning I have to write three pages of stuff that comes out of my head (known as Morning Pages). I’m to keep the pen moving until all three pages are filled.
Whatever comes into my head gets written down; positive, negative or neutral. Most of it is waffle and has no flow.
It’s not designed to be read by anyone else, including me.
It’s really fascinating what comes out. Most of it is negative chit-chat. I find I beat myself up about all kinds of things. A lot of moments from the past end up on the page which makes me feel quite dismal.
Then, this morning, I realise these negative thoughts are BRAIN JUNK!
The definition of junk is:
Old or discarded articles that are considered useless or of little value.
Oxford Dictionary
Many of us hold onto items in the hope that one day we’ll need them – that set of keys in the ‘junk’ drawer that you don’t know what they unlock. The deteriorated BBQ in the corner of the garden. How about the boxes full of stuff in the attic or under our beds that never gets used?
Junk rarely gets used.
It adds no value to our lives.
It just sits around making the place look untidy.
So why do we hold onto ‘junk’ in our heads?
Why am I still dwelling on the way I acted 4 years ago?
How about the things I said to a school friend 20 years ago!?
It’s all useless crap and cluttering the place up.
I’m ruthless when it comes to spring cleaning – we all know that awesome feeling after a proper good sort out – it’s great, isn’t it!? I can easily let things go that hold no value or use to me.
So how about I use that method in my head, and clear out the brain junk too!
When I think about some of the things that have happened to me in the past and the way I acted, it makes me feel wretched! Often that vibe can then stick around for a few hours and have a negative effect on my mood, my productivity and ultimately my entire day!
I’m going to start thinking about these thoughts as if they were actual items of junk – I’ll take them to the metephorical recycling centre or the tip because they serve no purpose to me anymore.
Notes to reader:
As I mentioned above, I am in week 2 of The Artist’s Way.
It’s taking a lot of time and work but I am really enjoying it.
This blog happened as a result of my Morning Pages – it was like a thunderbolt flash.
It’s something I wrote for myself as a way to reflect on what’s happening in my brain.
I make it public so it might help others.