on presence
a late summer journaling exercise
“We’ll dream of a longer summer but this is the one we have: I lay my sunburnt hand on your table: this is the time we have.”
— Adrienne Rich, Contradictions: Tracking Poems
this moment as a scene
[The prompts below pull from the most recent iteration of my journaling workshop practice, Journaling Space. Look out for fall workshop dates in Minneapolis soon, here and on Instagram.]
While the journal is a welcome zone for processing the past and anticipating the future, it’s also a tool for accessing presence. For pausing and noticing what’s true, now.
part 1, set
Describe your physical environment. Capture the characteristics of your seat, the floor/ground, the ceiling/sky, the lighting, any walls, any windows, the smells, the sounds, the mood, beyond.
Skim what you just wrote. Underline anything you didn’t notice previously. Reflect: Do you feel more aware of or connected to any part of your environment?
part 2, costume
Describe the outfit you’re wearing. What does each piece look and feel like? And to depart from presence only slightly: Why did you select each piece? What does each piece mean to you or remind you of?
Skim what you just wrote. Underline anything you didn’t notice previously. Reflect: Do you feel more aware of or connected to any part of your outfit?
notes
Challenge yourself to extract as much detail as possible.
Follow tangents if you want, incorporate illustrations if you want, do whatever you want.
Take this anywhere and repeat infinitely.
I hope this exercise brings grounding and awareness to current-you, and I hope the detailed log that comes from it brings amusement and fondness to future-you who might read it back someday, when life looks different.