This has been a sad week in our country.

I would be remiss if I didn’t convey my grief over the horrific events of this past week. Normally, I keep my monthly updates strictly related to the blog posts and upcoming workshops, but the massacre in Pittsburgh felt personal. I only hope and pray that we come together as a country to eliminate fear of the “other,” heal our wounds, and find common ground and understanding.

For me, writing has always helped me make sense of the difficult times in my life and that’s why I’m so passionate about helping others express themselves by putting pen to paper. The process works. Just this past week, The New York Times published a wonderful article, “What’s All This About Journaling?” that describes the benefits of writing in a journal:

“James W. Pennebaker, a social psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin who is considered the pioneer of writing therapy, said there isn’t one answer [as to why journaling works]. ‘It’s a whole cascade of things that occur’, he said. ‘Labeling emotions and acknowledging traumatic events — both natural outcomes of journaling — have a known positive effect on people.

'Keeping a journal,' according to Dr. Pennebaker, 'helps to organize an event in our mind, and make sense of trauma. When we do that, our working memory improves, since our brains are freed from the enormously taxing job of processing that experience, and we sleep better.’” To read the full article click here.

In other words, writing helps us gain clarity and a new perspective.

So, in these difficult times keep writing, hug your loved ones and don’t give into fear. Life must go on. To that end, let’s talk with each other and share our stories.

With gratitude,

Debbie