Write Awake: Inspiration from The Elements (Part 3 ~ Fire)

Welcome to the third installment of Write Awake: Inspiration from The Elements, a 4-part conscious writing series.

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Some people believe that burning a letter is a "surefire" way to release pent-up anger. You write. You light a match. You watch it burn. Your new life begins.

While Fire is known to spark a writer's passion, most of us fear it because we know it can be an unpredictable, destructive force. Fire is a wild element that will quickly grow into a raging inferno if we let it.

Anger can get out of control, too, but did you know you can use journaling as your metaphoric incinerator?

Recently, I fanned the flames with a private word rage about trying to book a medical appointment with bots:

I got a text message to call and I did, but another hangup? Are you kidding me? I waited on hold for over 10 minutes, listening to the same music play over and over, and your switchboard (or whatever you call it) hangs up on me? This may be a better system for the doctors and hospitals, but what about the patients? Remember us? How the hell does this simplify my scheduling experience? Isn’t my time worth something? Do you even care? How do I break through this ridiculous AI sentry bullshit to speak to a real person who can schedule my appointment right now? This might sound old-fashioned—and I don’t care if it does—but whatever happened to customer service? It’s tough enough having medical challenges, but seriously, Health Care Leaders, what the hell do we have to do to get some real human interaction here? Patients are in pain and worried. Where the hell is your empathy? The bots certainly don’t have it, so find yours and fix this—stat!

A different approach

Many people aren’t aware that I’ve been dealing with late stage, chronic Lyme disease ever since I was first diagnosed over twenty years ago.

It has affected my speech, mobility, and cognizant abilities and it’s the reason why I had to stop hosting live radio shows and in-person writing workshops.

One day I was feeling sorry for myself and decided to add a cheeky entry to my journal:

Dear Departed Lyme Tick: Was that one bite worth it? Really worth it? It killed you. How does it feel in the Tick Afterlife, knowing you caused such devastation to this human's life? Are you being amply rewarded? Are you biting your way through eternity? Are they sending you back as a mosquito?

I toned down the sarcasm a bit to let my anger really flow, like molten lava. I kept going until I got it all out—my anger, my frustrations—all the "why me?" complaints. What may surprise you is when I couldn’t think of one more negative thing, I shifted gears and wrote a letter of gratitude:

Dear Departed Lyme Tick: Thank you for the light flashes. They were so entertaining. All that was missing was a marching band playing John Philip Sousa. Thank you for introducing me to the fine art of typing backwards. I can always use a new skill. Thank you for the day I was taking a shower and couldn’t remember how to turn it off. That was funny, wasn't it? Thank you for the vertigo. It kept me from riding the escalator at Providence Place Mall. You must have known I didn't need to spend more money on candles and Cinnabons, so I thank you for keeping me on budget. Thank you for giving me so much pain. Seriously, from head to toe. But it's worked out great because I needed to slow down anyway, right? Oh—and thank you so much for being my writing muse. I would never have dreamed that one day I would write a novel that included a character with Lyme disease. Thank goodness I shared her symptoms, so I could write about it with authenticity!

The message of Fire is to release your toxic thoughts in a controlled environment. Find the courage to let new and improved thoughts rise like the Phoenix from your angry ashes!

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Exercises:

• Write a letter of unfiltered rage to a friend, family member, employer, politician, even a bot.

• If you’re a fiction writer, have your novel’s protagonist fight against the things you personally abhor.

• Write a scorching letter to your body, blaming it for all your woes. Then write a second letter, thanking it for those same grievances.

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For more tips on conscious writing, read Write Awake: A Conscious Path to Creativity and Change by Eleyne-Mari Sharp.