What Helps When You're Wrung Out by Advent?

a writing prompt for you

Welcome to Writing in Company. Each week I share some words and a writing prompt, meant to be jumping-off points for you to write about what matters. 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.

I don’t know about you but I’m a little wrung out by Advent this year. I’m glad it’s a week shorter than usual. Walking through the season with writers in grief workshops, as together we drip words and tears on the page, is a privilege that gives and takes. As Israel and Palestine loom large in our seasonal Advent texts and on our newsfeeds, I’m finding it harder than usual to keep hoping in the dark, even as we string up lights inside.

But that is what we do. Every year.

This year. That year. Next year, God willing.

So what helps on the dark days?

Here’s my running list of what’s helping me this year.

• Digitizing the Christmas lights helps.

• Avoiding crowds helps.

• Walking the ever-grateful dog helps.

• Having sisters helps.

• Drinking water helps.

• Taking deep breaths helps.

• Humming Handel’s Messiah helps.

• Taking my email off my phone helps.

• Rooting the broken branch of my Christmas cactus helps.

• Sharing a meal helps.

• Poetry helps. Always. Here’s one to share.

For the New Year, 1981
—by Denise Levertov

I have a small grain of hope—
one small crystal that gleams
clear colors out of transparency.
I need more.
I break off a fragment
to send you.
Please take
this grain of a grain of hope
so that mine won’t shrink.
Please share your fragment
so that yours will grow.
Only so, by division,
will hope increase,
like a clump of irises, which will cease to flower
unless you distribute
the clustered roots, unlikely source—
clumsy and earth-covered—
of grace.

a writing prompt

What is helping you this season? Make it a list if you like.

Or share a poem that helps in the comments, passing the grain of a grain of hope around, and letting it take root.

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Here’s my ridiculous minimalist tree this year. It started as a nod to seasonal weariness. Who has the energy to haul out all the lights? But I actually love it. Someday I’ll put all the ornaments on a tree again. For now, this is enough.