What do you have to say this morning?

The blank page is waiting.

All you hear is silence.

No words, yet.

Try not to panic.

Try not to think OMG, I'll never write anything.

Try not to listen to the negative 

voice in your head telling you 

how could you ever think 

you could write anything?

Instead, take a breath.

Close your eyes and exhale.

Take another breath and open your eyes.

Do you see the blank page in front of you?

What if you imagine it's like a still body of water

waiting for you to step into it?

Or like a snow-covered path

before anyone else has set foot on it?

Or maybe like a beach in the early morning

after the tide has retreated, leaving behind

a pristine patch of sand waiting for

your footprints to mark the start of the day?

Begin wherever you are and go from there.

Begin with a memory of someone who brings you joy

or with a wound that refuses to heal.

Put down a word --"grasshopper," say, or "grass" 

or "sunlight" or "coffee" -- and see where the word leads you.

Put aside your fears of making a mess--writing is a messy process!

Put aside your doubts that your words won't mean anything.

Listen to the voice encouraging you to begin,

the voice that you first heard urging you

to put words on paper.

Open yourself the way you'd open a book.

Let your pen touch the page.

Make a mark on the paper--a star, perhaps,

to guide you on your way--and listen 

to the words that come to you now.

Listen to the wind whispering

"Write! Before it's too late!"

Now turn the page and begin.