I feel cluttered inside. Emily P. Freeman writes lists to clear her mind, and that’s what’s got me thinking about it. Freeman is very talented at taking Big Things and paring them down to simple statements. She makes things manageable.
Simple is not easy for me. In fact, simple is insanely difficult. It is easier to sit down and delve into the ethos of society, or the details of my grief, or the many, many particulars of our mid-renovation house. It is not easy to pare them down into anything smaller. I usually do not even know what smaller means. This is why Emily P. Freemans are such a beautiful gift to the world.
In the spirit of simplicity, and after reading Freeman’s own, here are some questions that I hope will act a little like poetry – slowing us down, helping us to think in concrete terms, and, by those means, making sense of the Big Things, too.
(This bright White Page is bearing down on me because this is not what we usually do here, in this space. But I will remind you, White Page, that you are not the boss here. If asking questions is what today calls for, then questions will be asked!)
And so, with that little aside done with, we continue.
What scene from this week struck you, made you slow down, stopped the constant buzzing of your mind?
Did anything happen this week that usually does not?
Was anything disappointing this week?
Where do you feel discomfort in your life (this can be physically or emotionally – something that just isn’t sitting right)?
What is something you are yearning for?
What is something recent that made you supremely happy?
When is the last time you felt at peace?
I know this world is a hard place. I know the earth is groaning, and that Goodness will only be concealed for so long. These questions aren’t panaceas, as we might sometimes want questions to be; but, if you need them, take them. Answer them freely and honestly. Share an answer with me, if it pleases you – and I will share one back.