I haven’t posted for the last two weeks. I didn’t post because I didn’t write. I didn’t write because I couldn’t, I got stuck and so I stopped showing up.

I was reading my journals from 2021, and I released that while writing a memoir with themes of chasing your dreams, and living to your full potential, I wasn’t living my life that way. I know I’ve been through a lot so I’m trying to bring more compassion to myself, but I feel like I’ve been hiding within my comfort zone, too scared to make any life changes & this realisation has been a hard pill to swallow.

In those two weeks, I took a step back from writing (except journaling of course), I turned 49, I signed up to a writing course, I walked in nature and the best thing I did was to send a message to my friends in our writing group to say I was struggling with the memoir.

Everyone needs help moving forward, and you can’t move forward without being vulnerable. Failure, weakness, and vulnerability are like connectors because they give out a signal to the world to say, ‘I can’t do this by myself‘. When I reached out to my friends, I received support, wise words, and most importantly I felt connected. It gave me the courage to take a look at my life to see if I need to make any changes, and to reaffirm that I will continue to show up, declare my intention to finish my memoir, and embrace this vulnerable space.

This post is written with gratitude to Alana, Anne, and Mairead (Write on!) – in this solitary world of writing, I am grateful to have found my writing tribe. Go raibh míle maith agat, a chairde (thank you very much, my friends).

Days remaining in 90 day challenge = 27 (to 4th June 2024)

Word count for Creative down draft 1  = 57,417 words

Christine Poole 8th May 2024