The Gift that Keeps on Giving
Julia Cameron's Morning pages: ten guidelines to nurturing the ritual.
I write in a black hardcover classic squared/grided moleskin almost daily. I’ll miss a day or two each week. But on most mornings—my favorite kinds of mornings—I sit to write three pages of freehand longhand stream of consciousness, the first thing when I awake. Thank you Julia Cameron—her morning pages—are God’s answer to free daily therapy. They’ve become a divine lifeline for me.
I’ve arranged my mornings to blend with such rituals with ease. I don’t have a loud obnoqious alarm that abruptly wakes me. When I am home, I wake either to the vibration of the brilliant smart mattress topper or the slow gentle arousal of light radiating from my techy light bulbs.
Loud intrusive alarms feels old fashioned—oh, such a millenial and first-world luxury— I know. Either way it’s a much gentler way of waking that rarely ruins the first minutes of my day while I roll around in bed awake. On the days when I have no need to wake at a specific hour, then I prefer to rise with the sun. There’s a lot to be said about tuning into your natural circadian rhythm; the science agrees too.
Savouring my mornings by resisting the urge to succumb to modern normalities is one of the best lifestyle changes I cherish. Instead of flooding my mind with unwarranted interruptions of messages, information, and notifications— I somehow, miraculously, have built the courage and the consistency to preserve those precious first few minutes awake. Instead, in solace, I write, by hand, in black inky pen, with my go-to 0.7 sarasa gel pen for at least an hour almost each day.
It’s a cherished morning ritual that I will likely take to my grave. But even more than a habit, it’s also been welcomed moments of profound realisations and a powerful catalyst to my day.
Most days it helps me start my day on a high. Even if I start winey or grumpy somedays, I know there’s always an opportunity to turn things around. On these pages, wrestling with every thought or cornering every emotion, I feel free. Free form being judged, by myself or others, free to speak my mind as bluntly as I please—every session is a mini-retreat from the bombardment we’ve become accustomed to.
I know what you might be thinking, “I don’t have time for such things!” Here’s what I’ve learned about time, if it’s enough of a priority for you, you’ll always make time. Like brushing your teeth or having a shower, like spending time with your lover or eating to survive, you squeeze in the minutes somehow.
Whether it means waking up an hour early or sleeping an hour later, there’s always time if it’s enough of a priority, so decide if writing morning pages is something that works for you.
If you’re looking to pick up this habit, then here are some useful guidelines I like to remind myself:
