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“You enter the extraordinary by way of the ordinary.” ~Frederick Buechner
Workshop:
Six Conversations for Writing Creative
Journals
“Hunting,
fishing, drawing, and music occupied my every moment. Cares I knew not, and
cared naught about them.” John James Audubon
We
began this journal section saying, “Art, music, and imagery can become a
separate language of communication. So too does nature. It is a language that
speaks to us, by personally touching our hearts and souls with meaning, and
also by allowing us to share across time and culture with others. Nature as
reflection builds a bridge of communication that gives us soul-to-soul threads
of understanding.”
With
whom do you want to share your discoveries? What age? What method: art,
writing, music, comic books, maps, photos, or…? What will be your bridge?
Sharing builds communication. It’s like the excitement of watching a gift being
opened for a special reason.
We
may not have every moment to pour ourselves in, as did Audubon, but because of
his commitment he still continues to inspire others because of his nature
discoveries that have been passed down through information and art.
And
the bonus is the memories continue to be fresh with each encounter. Nature is
ever present and ever changing. Share both the ordinary and the unexpected.
Action
Steps:
1. Ask yourself, ‘What are three parts of
nature that I find the most interesting, intriguing, confusing, symbolic?’
Other categories? Make your own lists.
2. Then ask yourself, ‘What could they be
springboards to?’ If as a writer perhaps a new setting for a scene or novel, a
vocabulary for metaphors, a source of study, or perhaps a preparation for essays,
or articles or devotions.
3. Or a hands-on project for yourself or your
neighbors or city? What might that look like? With whom might you be able to
share insights to fuel creativity and action?
4. Start a reading list to dig deeper into
your territory.
Share: What is your
dream? What is your first step?
Read deep, marcy
“A
true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his
fathers, but borrowed from his children.” John James Audubon
John
James Audubon was both a scientist and an artist. He dove into his passion and
has left an amazing legacy not only of his own work, but the inspiration he
passed on to others. What action from your journal last week has built up your
desire to combine your own practical and creative abilities into an ongoing
interaction?
Or,
where would you like to investigate more? What time can you carve out? Has
anything surprised you in your journal so far that is changing your
perspective? The possibilities are endless in nature so to interact means to
listen to your heartbeat for your passion.
Several
years ago Geary Mandrapilias shared her story in Nature’s Garden that she had
begun gardening as an outdoor activity while her children played in the yard.
“I was definitely collecting plants but…I certainly did not know I was making a
habitat.” Her passion grew and when a fellow Master Gardener suggested she
become a wildlife rehabilitator, another one of her interests blended in. She
built a chain of three small ponds into her yard that became a habitat for
turtles. Later an “assortment of birds, rabbits, squirrels, lizards, and other
wildlife” also came. (Nature’s
Garden Magazine Summer 2007)
Sometimes
taking our first step of interaction can begin a surprising journey.
In
a recent visit to Milwaukie, Oregon, I spotted a few Wildlife signs near
driveways during a walk. When I took a closer look I saw they were
certifications for backyard habitats. The Portland Audubon society has a
program to assist homeowners to interact and help preserve local habitats.
Their five program elements include: “removal of aggressive weeds, naturescaping with native
plants, pesticides reduction, stormwater management and wildlife stewardship.
Two of their concerns under wildlife stewardship include providing water and
shelter, and decreasing hazards to wildlife.
Journal ideas of how you would like to interact with nature.
Then write out other interests and daydream how they might merge—either in
concrete physical action and/or art.
Action
Steps:
1. Look up the
Audubon websites and resources in your own geographic home and see what
stewardship or habitat possibilities you might be able to incorporate, even if
in a crowded city.
2. What actions
will best combine your personal factual science and your art lean together?
3. Plan your
project.
Share: What is one
simple action you discovered for your location?
Read deep, marcy
Workshop: Six
Conversations for Writing Creative
Journals
“The
act of recording a life, in healthy solitude and active connection to loved
terrain, is also the act of creating a life.” Hannah
Hinchman
How
to find that creative interest? Begin from your own home habitat.
Like
any other journal, the nature journal also extends from the five minute quick
write such as ‘what did I see in nature today that affected me’ to a deep
detailed scientific analysis. Sometimes the more we connect the more we want to
explore. Our interest is not satisfied with a passing glance.
However
there are also so many possibilities to explore that we’re not always sure
exactly where we’d like to dig deep. Here are some suggestions to try out a day
at a time, or a week at a time, or for long-term studies a month. When you find
your journal responses producing more and more questions and ideas, then follow
that curiosity.
1.
Take a different route for a walk each time. Look for anything that surprises
you.
2.
Or look for a specific feature: type of tree, animals you see, smells and
shapes.
3.
Keep a log of the weather patterns or the sunrise, sunset for a month.
4.
Choose one spot and look at it morning noon and night. What stays the same?
What is different?
5.
Choose a particular study such as the moon, or tides, or seasons and watch the
changes over a long period of time.
6.
Or, on the same idea, watch a nest of birds for their entire cycle while taking
daily readings. Mark the day-by-day different changes.
7.
If you are keeping a more scientific study create a template page where you can
mark dates or time of day, notes pertinent to your study and sketches or
photos.
8.
Keep a sketch journal only. Or, if unable to draw, take photographs and make it
a visual journal.
9.
Collect leaves or seeds or stones if allowed. Draw or trace them.
Once,
when I first moved to a city that had a different skyline than any I had ever seen
I spent every Sunday evening over the next two months describing the colors in
the sky. Not one was a replica.
The
main idea is to enjoy the beauty and mystery and astounding creation that too
often we can take for granted in our busy lives.
Action
Steps:
1. Which of the above caught your interest or
led you to your own version? Why?
2. Design a study plan that fits your life so
you look forward to each week’s discovery.
Share: What would
you like to watch for in nature over the next week or month?
Read deep, marcy
Workshop:
Six Conversations for Writing Creative
Journals
“Journaling
from the events of daily life does not mean simply keeping a log or diary of
who we saw and what we did each day. It means, rather, writing down the
experiences that have affected our soul in a particular way.” Anne
Broyles
Identify what inspires you through nature.
Here is one
view—one day—one experience—that had the ability to capture a whole inspiration
as Rainer Maria Rilke offers up a prayer from the land that carries across the
centuries of time.
Autumn
“The leaves are falling, falling as if from
far off,
as
if in the distance heavens gardens withered;
they fall
with gestures that say, ‘no.’
And in the
nights the heavy earth falls
from all the
stars into aloneness.
We are all
falling. This hand is falling.
And look at
the others: it is in them all.
And yet
there is One who holds this falling
with
infinite softness in his hands.”
Just
as a reflective journal helps connect you to your daily life from a variety of
views, so too can a nature journal be approached either randomly, or while
trying to study a particular concept, and then go deeper into certain aspects.
One
creative writing exercise, often known as the index or table of contents, works
well with nature journals to grasp an initial overview to start from. The idea
is to make a list of about 20 to 30 ideas or subjects of your choice. A list of
potential titles works well too. Do it quickly under a timer to help keep your
critical thinking set aside. Try five or ten minutes. One time after I put
together a mock index of things I’d like to read/write/study I discovered to my
great surprise that 22 out of 25 topics were all nature related.
Below are some headings Hannah
Hinchman used in A Trail Through Leaves.
“Feeling It In Your Bones
The Power of
the Ordinary
The Flow Of
Attention
Seeing Order
Seeing Chaos
Unmeasureable
Phenomena”
Action
Steps:
1. Make a table of contents list from one
particular season and write down as many nature memories you can think of. It
can be in a specific season one year or a general overview of memories over the
years.
2. Then expand each one with concrete
details. For example: Did it rain one whole week? What did it sound like—list
all the other characteristics you remember as well.
3. Now go back to the description exercise
and choose five episodes from your list above that affected you either
positively or negatively. Now write them up in descriptive detail.
Share: Which season
most captured your heart?
Read deep, marcy
Workshop:
Six Conversations for Writing Creative
Journals
“But
ask the animals, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will
tell you; ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of
the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of
the Lord had done this?” Job 12:7-9
Scripture often reminds us of the power of creation in our lives
and inspires us to see through a new lens, or another different perspective.
One summer I shared some inspiration I found after some investigation regarding
the unique characteristics of birds as a family devotional. Here’s an example.
“Bird
Struck! Woodpecker
Family
Devotional
“Thank
you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how
well I know it” Psalm 139:14.
Although
they differ in length, all woodpeckers have a straight chisel-like
self-sharpening bill and straight stiff tail feathers, which help them to lean
against tree trunks.
They
are like living electric drills similar to the jackhammers workers use to break
up sidewalks for repair. The woodpecker can pound up to twenty some blows a
second on a tree. That’s a lot of hard battering.
At
the back of their lower jaw is a muscular pad that acts as a shock absorber.
They are specially designed for the work they do.
Not
only do they drill into branches and trees to eat insects and grubs, but the
holes they excavate often become nests for other smaller birds such as
nuthatches, wrens, and elf owls.
Jesus
tells us that God knows when each sparrow falls and how many hairs are on his
head. We are each unique to Him—a one-of-a-kind design that has specific
abilities for special tasks.
Sometimes
He has a very special job He asks us to do. If another bird tried to imitate
the woodpecker, he would be badly hurt without the shock absorber. So it’s
important not to imitate other people but be our unique selves.
When
we follow Jesus, He Himself protects us and becomes our shock absorber. Then we
can freely live our lives in His protection doing the work he asks us to do.
Action
What are some special things you know how to
do? How can you help someone else with your abilities?”
What
have you been reading, or seeing, recently in nature in your investigations that
inspires you to see through a new lens and a fresh perspective whether land or
sea or sky or animals. What insight have you discovered to share and how do you
want to share it?
Action
Steps:
1. Take a walk in
a familiar setting such as a walk around a few blocks or a nearby park, or a
trail you jog or walk whenever possible.
2. Deliberately choose
a characteristic to look for or listen for: foliage, or animal, or wind and
concentrate on that specific detail.
3. What do you
notice that you have not noticed before?
Share: What is your
fresh insight that inspires you?
Read deep, marcy
Workshop:
Six Conversations for Writing Creative
Journals
“Material
objects are used to express spiritual truths and reveal that nature is more
than it seems. Nature is book of symbols…….’This empty world which we do see is
an exact picture and pattern of the spiritual and heavenly world which we do not see.’”
Herbert Lockyer
With an expanded language to push us out of our
comfort zone consider what symbols are the most representative to your habitat.
Begin with the familiar ones that speak across languages and cultures. For
example, we all can relate to symbols we see daily such as the sun, moon, and
stars.
And yet at the same time we may see each from a
different perspective depending on where we live. Extended summer sun may be
experienced as a joy of longer days, or, for those for whom the sun lasts long hours
in the summer, it can mean sleep deprivation. For example, in Fairbanks, Alaska,
the summer sun means twenty-two hours of daylight.
Once you have your list of symbols investigate
their meanings. Which are positive or negative to you specifically. Are they
different from what others might perceive them? Why? Which sensory connections
have the most impact for you physically, mentally, or spiritually?
When you have investigated the top few symbols
that you relate to write up a brief letter to yourself as to why they capture
you. Then consider how you would like to share in some form of art, whether or
not you have the skills to do so.
Why would that symbol in that presentation best
express a truth you have discovered?
Action
Steps:
“In
a parable, there is nothing contrary to the truth of Nature.” Herbert Lockyer
1. Now make a list of potential symbols that
fit your spiritual truth you recognize in your habitat.
2. What truths do they best represent—both
positive and negative?
3. Which one do you think best fits a
parable? How can you share it in a creative format, whether as a short story or
a song or another form of visible art?
Share: What symbol best
fits your perspective truth?
Read deep, marcy
Workshop:
Six Conversations for Writing Creative
Journals
“You present
your story in terms of things that can be verified by sensory perception.
Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch—these are the common denominators of human
experience; these are the evidence that men believe.” Dwight V.
Swain
Before
we can interpret our feelings, memories, and emotions to different habitats we
are drawn towards, in the past or present, we often need to explore the
language that nature’s imagery evokes.
Building
a sensory vocabulary helps us to understand and share our experiences with
depth to both interpret and enhance emotional connections. One of my favorite
and engaging applications came from a workshop I took with author Ethel Herr.
She pointed out that any observation is incomplete unless we can track the
emotional reaction—both in one-to-one contact and with fictional characters.
We
need to develop the essential specific word choices: salty-sour-sweet-bitter.
If it smells bad is it like a: rotten egg, a sewer, or a low tide? And we also
need to recognize that what smells bad to one person may actually be sweet to
another. I discovered that one day when driving with an elderly friend. I smelt
something noxious and worried it was my car. I asked if she could smell it and
her reply was “isn’t it lovely?” Apparently we were smelling sulfur, which to
her reminded her of where she grew up near sulfur springs. She happily inhaled
while I attempted not to choke.
To
develop and expand a wider vocabulary Ethel Herr suggested choosing a different sense per day and
paying close attention to just it. So on Monday notice everything you smell. On
Tuesday touch, Wednesday taste, Thursday hear, and Friday see.
Then next
to each word on each list expand the possibilities. Again, did something smell
rotten? Was it rotten like decaying compost, a humid hiking trail, or a dead
fish? What distinguishes each ‘rotten’ smell? Repeat the process for any words
that you want more depth to.
Action
Steps:
1. Take the
habitat and memory you chose last week and apply Ethel Herr’s exercise to your
details. Choose one sense per day and daydream that moment.
2. What detail
surprised you? What made you laugh or cry?
3. What word best
represents your language example?
Share: What two
favorite sensory images did you remember?
Read deep, marcy
Workshop:
Six Conversations for Writing Creative
Journals
“The act of
recording a life, in healthy solitude and active connection to a loved terrain,
is also the act of creating a life.” Hannah Hinchman
Nature
Journals—Language
Art,
music, and imagery can become a separate language of communication. So too does
nature. It is a language that speaks to us, by personally touching our hearts
and souls with meaning, and also by allowing us to share across time and
culture with others. Nature as reflection builds a bridge of communication that
gives us soul-to-soul threads of understanding.
Their
images provide illustrations to our past and our present with strangers and
friends, as we paint words with pictures and sensory description through
writing, or share our images silently in drawings and photographs.
Here
are a few examples.
In
her book, This Same Sky, Naomi Shihab
Nye shares poems from around the world; this excerpt is by Kwang-kyu Kim in
South Korea, translation by Brother Anthony.
The
Land of Mists
“In the land of mists
always shrouded in mist
nothing ever happens
And if something happens
nothing can be seen
because of the mist
for if you live in mist
you get accustomed to mist
so you don’t try to see
Therefore in the land of mists
you should not try to see
you have to hear things
for if you don’t hear you can’t live
so ears keep on growing
People like rabbits
with ears of white mist
Iive in the land of mists.”
As
a child I spent many summers visiting my aunt at a lake in northern Ontario,
Canada. At least once or twice each summer we would get a raging storm over the
lake unlike anything I would ever experience in the city. There were no hard
copy photographs for me to look at when I grew older, but as I re-saw the
storms in my memory I was able to see it again and capture it for myself in a
poem.
The Storm,
by marcy weydemuller
Gloom black sky,
thick hard rain,
the lake invisible.
Until lightning
ripped above.
Then we could see
bending trees,
churning waves
wrestled the storm.
Awestruck, we
returned to dark
again.
Action
Steps:
1. What images or emotions do you identify
with in either of these nature snapshots? What memories do they bring up from
your own experience in a particular setting? Write that scene up in your
journal.
2. Then write, “today I wish I could go to
the woods, meadow, ocean, forest, lake, mountain or…
because…….. .”
Share:
Why does that habitat of nature appeal to you the most?
Read deep, marcy
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