Catharsis

ca·thar·sis


–noun.

1. the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, esp. through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music.
 
well well well. i would not have defined catharsis in that way, in fact, I'm not sure how i would have  tried to describe it. i guess like slave for the a wound, or slave for the soul.
 
this is what writing is to me. catharsis. writing is a purging of emotions and relieving of tensions. through creating art of my own. sometimes this takes place in my yard (a yard that is becoming a garden.) catharsis. sometimes i let myself get all bottled up, plugged up. the tensions build, and writing helps. its not the same for everyone. but for me, it helps. on nights when my mind is so full of activity, it helps to write it out. get the thoughts and emotions on paper, or on the blog. catharsis.
 
some days it is other arts, painting, beads, clay. photography. someday i may give myself the homework/art project: what does sorrow look like? How do you take a picture of a broken heart? and conversely, what does joy look like? that seems easier to me. both are VERY intimate, but to capture moments of sorrow and a broken heart. oh.   for today, it is beyond me. for i cannot yet hold it.
 
but writing, oh yes, what i originally started out talking about....writing. it is cathartic for my soul. and for that reason i NEED to keep it in my life. and when all else gets crazy, and papers and deadlines and events loom, the journaling and writing seem to crawl under the bed to hide.  not gone. not even lost. but gathering dust for another day. 
 
Tonight i realized that i can listen to the voice of shame, or the other voices that want to be heard. it takes slowing down, breathing and focus.
 
and I'm thankful for the work of it. thankful for the other women i sat with tonight-for their hearts were radiant and striking. their stories, their glimpses, they stay with me. in the morning, and in the car, and at the grocery store, i think of their stories.  fear, hope, loneliness, change, love, children. i am grateful for writing. the way it burns in me. I'm thankful.