How We Get Through It
a writing prompt for you if you feel like writing about grief or storms or just making a list....or not, and that's okay too
Welcome to Writing in Company. This is a community for you, whatever your experience with writing. It’s an invitation to write about what matters—grief, gratitude, grace, and more. Each week I share some words and a writing prompt, meant to be jumping-off points. Use the prompts however you like—to journal, to draft thoughts for your own writing project, as meditation or prayer ideas, or for another creative endeavor. You can always look back through the archive for more ideas. Grab your pen and paper, and let your words loose on the page.
A Hurricane Helene update:
Our daughter, who still lives in our former town of Asheville, NC, evacuated safely on Sunday. We went about 36 hours without being in contact, and that was too many. My heart hurts for those who still have not communicated with loved ones, and wonder if they ever will. I now live about an hour east in Morganton, parts of which also flooded. We still have no power or clean water at my house, so I will keep this post brief. I am fortunate. The trees that fell on our road missed the house. We have canned food, bottled water, camp cooking equipment, a full tank of gas, and access to roads east. So many others are in much worse shape.
As images and stories from places and people I love keep rolling in, tears are close behind. Western North Carolina will not be the same in many places (as well as in FL, GA, SC, and TN). While the resilience and neighborly love of the people who live in the foothills and mountains is increasingly evident, so is the bone-tired trauma. Grief is on its way.
This week, while my mind is scattered and thoughts are swirling, I am remembering that I didn’t know the power of writing to carry grief until five years after our loss. Early loss and trauma for me felt like survival, and then numbness. I had no resources—internal or otherwise—for writing then. And even when I began to write, often the words were slow, halting, and messy. Still are, some days.
If you are navigating grief right now, from storms of any kind, give yourself grace about whether you are doing it right. There is no right way. I do know that you have within you what is needed to move towards healing. It may not feel like it today, and that’s okay. My writing prompts offer a way to begin, but they are just one resource, not a mandate. They might not be what you need today. Or you might read the prompts, but not write. Or you might write a list instead of sentences, or doodle instead of write words. Or (if you have power) check your email and Facebook for news of your people and places twelve times while you are trying to write. Ask me how I know….
Your response today is whatever it needs to be. Take what is helpful, and leave the rest for another time. Be gentle with yourself and your neighbor, too. That’s how we get through it.
a writing prompt or two
I woke up thinking about a writing prompt I learned in my bereaved mothers’ group: Write about a place that no longer is.
Here’s a previous post where I wrote about one of those places for me:
OR: If that seems like too much today, do something else—start with a list.
Here’s one of my first prompts and posts from those early swirly pandemic days in March 2020, where I shared a list of lists to make when my brain couldn’t settle on anything else.
Today I will start with a list of what’s left in my cooler right now, besides the dwindling ice:
one container of yogurt
smoked gouda cheese
half a cucumber
oat milk I no longer trust
four strips of bacon
a jar of blackberry jelly
I already have more things to say about the blackberry jelly, and the friend who gave it to me.
Take good care, friends. Grace, peace, and prayers for you, and all who need them.
If you are looking for ways to donate to immediate relief efforts, here are the ones I know are on the ground helping people.
In Asheville, there are few better organizations than BeLoved Asheville. See what they are up to on their Facebook page: BeLoved Asheville and donate here: https://www.paypal.me/BeLovedAsheville
Black Mountain Presbyterian Church is feeding and serving people in desperate need and stacking diapers, dog food, water, and more in their sanctuary. A donate button is on their homepage.
I can also vouch for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance for more widespread aid now, and into the future. Their team for our area is scheduled to arrive today.
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