“I write because I’m afraid to say some things out loud.” (unattributable)

You know those niggling voices in your head? The ones you try to ignore? The problem is, the more we ignore thoughts swirling around inside of us, the more powerful they become. What are you afraid to say out loud? What thoughts do you need to express but haven’t allowed yourself to do so? Grab a pen and paper or your computer and take ten minutes or so and write without stopping. Fill a page or two or three and see what comes out. See how you feel once you’ve unloaded your thoughts onto the page or screen. The good news? When you’re done, you can shred the pages or hit “delete” but at least you’ve had a chance to articulate your thoughts, get them out of your head, and hopefully gain some distance and a new perspective. At least you’ve said what you wanted to say . . .

While the prompt is designed to spark your personal writing, if you end up crafting an essay that you'd like to send my way, I'd love to read it.

If you have another Creative Aging essay you'd like to share with others on the blog, click here for submission info.