A book that makes me want to be a better writer.

Discovering Julia Cameron and my inner spirituality.

I am 44 years old and I did something this past week that I’ve never done before.

And I did it 27 times.

While on the beach.

In Antigua.

While reveling in my 20th wedding anniversary bliss with my partner in crime.

I dog eared pages in a book.

Mind blown.

With fully realized inner peace and unadulterated happiness, (not to mention a few Red Stripes) coupled with my unwavering desire to define myself as Writer, I willingly welcomed in non-ironic inspiration and spirituality. I enjoyed awakening the artist inside while simultaneously as happy as a fucking clam.

Before you say it, yes, I recognize that I may be now venturing scarily close to pretentious asshole land, but so be it.

It happened and who am I to get in the way?

The book is “The Artist’s Way Every Day: A Year of Creative Living” by Julia Cameron. I had first heard of her through a writing exercise she practiced entitled “Morning Pages”.

This daily routine requires one to physically write and fill three blank pieces of paper as a means to clear the mind of clutter. Many well-known writers claim to follow this practice and laud the benefits.

While I wasn’t ready for that type of commitment, I was intrigued by the concept. So I dug into the author more.

One sample reading from her signature book “The Artist’s Way” and I was game to add it to my upcoming beach reading list. Unfortunately, my local library only had the aforementioned “Year of Creative Living” available so it had to do.

YOCR contains 365 passages from Cameron’s various books so it is a Cliffs Notes version of sorts. A nice entry point into all things Julia Cameron.

The book is easily digestible with daily bits of inspiration and spiritual guidance. While it leans Christian, it isn’t overly religious and is more in a generalized spiritual vein.

I bought in.

Writing advice dominates the entries and that is what had such a profound impact on this beach reader. But so much of her writings could be extended to other pursuits in the arts not to mention to everyday life.

No other book saw the light of day on the beach.

I will buy my own copy and cannot wait to wear it out.

I’ll happily pay the fine if the library fines for excessive dog earing.

This was the right book at the right time (although it dates back to 2009) for this newfound spiritual consumer. If you haven’t discovered her already, I highly suggest giving her a spin.

Here are just some of my favorite pieces that I proudly dog eared with gusto with caribbean sand between my sun burned toes:

I learned to write setting judgment aside and save a polish for later. I gave myself emotional permission to do rough drafts and for those rough drafts to be, well, rough. Freed to be rough, my writing actually became smoother.

An open mind, a spirit of scientific inquiry, and the willingness to delve into the unknown can lead all writers to an unexpected inner resource that will greatly enrich both their lives and their work.

When we cooperate with our creativity, using it to live within the lives we actually have, we surprise ourselves with our level of invention.

Any mood is a good writing mood. The trick is to simply enter whatever mood like a room and sit down and write from there.

So much of life is like taking a photograph. We must pause to catch the moment and savor our delight. Savoring the moment is a learned art, and it is an art that must be practiced to be perfected.

Writing is medicine. It is an appropriate antidote to injury. It is an appropriate companion for any difficult change. Writing about the change, we can help it along, lean into it, cooperate. Writing allows us to rewrite our lives.

Whenever you feel stymied, stuck, or frantic, remind yourself, this is the result of having too many good ideas — even if it feels like you have no good ideas at all.

Ease and difficulty of writing have little to do, in the long run, with the quality of what gets produced.

No, doubt is most often a signal you are doing something and doing it right.

Honesty, observation, and imagination are the three ingredients that are the staples. They make up the broth …