It’s gotta go.
Before you purge your purse, though, try this:
· Reflect on the role the purse played in your life journey by using it as a writing prompt.
· Start with a 5-minute freewrite as you observe the purse’s exterior.
· Then another 5-minute freewrite on the purse’s contents. The nature of freewriting is to follow the writing and let it take you on adventure. If your freewrites take you off the topic of “purse” go with that flow.
If you are not familiar with freewriting, here’s how:
· Set a timer for 5 minutes
· In those 5 minutes, list all the memories and ideas associated with the purse in front of you.
· Keep your hand moving. No stopping, crossing out or editing.
· Misspellings? Who cares? Stuck on a word? Having a tip-of-the-tongue experience? Draw a line as a placeholder and keep going.
· If you want to get everything down in the allotted time, pretend you are at a meeting – work, school, church – and you’ve volunteered to take minutes. Write down exactly what you hear (inside your head) as it comes. If you don’t keep your hand moving you’re going to miss a lot of the good stuff.
· When the timer dings, your freewrite session is done!
Likely, you have more to say about your purse-associated memories and ideas then what you can write in 5 minutes. If so, set your timer to expand on those ideas that need more room for expression. Try freewrites of 10, 15 or 20 minutes.
This is a way to practice detachment – to ease separation from material possessions – and inject playfulness into releasing them.
Before you say, “arrivederci” to your purse, use it to nourish your brain’s creative engine.
Ready?
