{"id":1143,"date":"2020-04-17T13:36:38","date_gmt":"2020-04-17T13:36:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bronwengriff.co.uk\/?page_id=1143"},"modified":"2020-04-17T13:36:38","modified_gmt":"2020-04-17T13:36:38","slug":"writing-in-this-time-of-uncertainty","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/bronwengriff.co.uk\/?page_id=1143","title":{"rendered":"Writing in this Time of Uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

April 2020<\/p>\n

We are always writing in a time of uncertainty because the truth is we can never be certain of what the next day will bring; if it will bring good news or bad, rain or sunshine, a mood of optimism or one of gloom. But today, perhaps more than ever in our lifetimes, we are living with the full knowledge that life is always<\/em> uncertain. Few of us, if any, could have predicted how radically our lives would change this year.<\/p>\n

However, the very act of creation, is to work with uncertainty.<\/p>\n

\u201cWriting a first draft is very much like watching a Polaroid develop. You can\u2019t\u2013and in face, you\u2019re not supposed to\u2013know exactly what the picture is going to look like until it has finished developing.\u201d (<\/em>Anne Lamott).<\/p>\n

We can\u2019t wholly control this virus. We can take steps \u2013 as we are all doing \u2013 to try and protect ourselves and others \u2013 but there is much we can\u2019t do and much we don\u2019t yet know. The data is incomplete. We do not entirely understand why some apparently healthy people get sicker than others. We fear getting sick ourselves; we fear for our loved ones; we fear for everyone.  <\/p>\n

There is proof that the less information people have, the more irrational and erratic their decisions become. You might think the opposite would be true\u2014the less information we have, the more careful and rational we would be in evaluating the validity of that information. This isn\u2019t how the human brain works. When we are uncertain, we can feel anxious and fearful.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most valuable way we can attempt to deal with uncertainty is to live in the moment. That\u2019s where writing or other creative activities can help because, when we are immersed in creative activities, we are not worrying about the virus, or the fact that we may have no job tomorrow. Creative activities in themselves cannot solve these problems. If you can\u2019t pay the bills you must seek a practical solution. Writing won\u2019t solve that \u2013 unless you\u2019re very lucky! But writing, journaling, and other creative activities can be therapeutic, though please be careful not to put yourself under pressure to create – be playful instead. Don\u2019t worry about the finished product. Scribble away your frustrations, anger and fear and learn to be attentive to what is around you. That birdsong. Your heart-beat. Even the siren of the ambulance coming up the road. Because in the end this is all you \u2013 all we have \u2013 this moment. Only this moment.<\/p>\n

The moment <\/em><\/p>\n

of first unfurling<\/em><\/p>\n

the leaf small as a distant star<\/em><\/p>\n

the moment<\/em><\/p>\n

a magnolia blossom<\/em><\/p>\n

releases its petals into sky-blue<\/em><\/p>\n

a blue reflecting hyacinths<\/em><\/p>\n

that giddy the air with sweet scent <\/em><\/p>\n

the moment a bee<\/em><\/p>\n

finds its way into the heart of the damson blossom<\/em><\/p>\n

and the wind<\/em><\/p>\n

sculpts the cloud into a feather<\/em><\/p>\n

white in the grass<\/em><\/p>\n

this is the moment<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April 2020 We are always writing in a time of uncertainty because the truth is we can never be certain of what the next day will bring; if it will bring good news or bad, rain or sunshine, a mood of optimism or one of gloom. But today, perhaps more than ever in our lifetimes, … Continue reading Writing in this Time of Uncertainty<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":728,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/bronwengriff.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1143"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/bronwengriff.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/bronwengriff.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bronwengriff.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bronwengriff.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1143"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/bronwengriff.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1147,"href":"http:\/\/bronwengriff.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1143\/revisions\/1147"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bronwengriff.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/bronwengriff.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}