Express Yourself
Today I am grateful for the healthy ways I have to express myself. I am also grateful for my son Sam and the chance to express my love to him daily.
You may have guessed by now that today's word is express. I am choosing to focus on this simple definition: to represent in words. That covers it. Saying "I love you" to Sam is a natural thing for me to do, but growing up I didn't hear those words much. I was cared for and provided for, but my parents were from families and from a generation that didn't say the words much. It was already hard to get enough attention and emotional support being one of thirteen children. This lack of expression did some harm to me and my view of self and world. I don't blame my parents. I don't blame circumstances for the choices I made. But it does help me understand a few things about myself. As I grew into adulthood, I pledged that if I ever had a child, he/she would regularly hear my love expressed.
At some point in the last year, I had a fortune cookie that said "The important thing is to express yourself." I saved that saying and added it to a frame with other words and numbers of inspiration in it. The writer in me has always known the truth behind the saying, but that writer hasn't always had the confidence to express myself in a public format. I owe a significant debt of gratitude to my friend Jenny who helped me find a new voice, who helped bring an essayist out of a poet. We collaborated on a book about our breast cancer experiences, being diagnosed within a month of each other. Jenny the novelist and Lisa the poet wrote essay after essay. It was a stretch for both of us, but that stretch and Jenny's support and encouragement brought a voice out in me that I never knew I had. The book remains in manuscript form, but it has already helped bring me to the next level of writing pursuits. Thanks Jenny!
Since then, "express yourself" has taken on more confidence and meaning for me. Commentaries in newspapers and guest blogposts followed. Then, this blog was born.
Spoken. Written. Typed. Thought. Expressed. Words are what it is all about.
You may have guessed by now that today's word is express. I am choosing to focus on this simple definition: to represent in words. That covers it. Saying "I love you" to Sam is a natural thing for me to do, but growing up I didn't hear those words much. I was cared for and provided for, but my parents were from families and from a generation that didn't say the words much. It was already hard to get enough attention and emotional support being one of thirteen children. This lack of expression did some harm to me and my view of self and world. I don't blame my parents. I don't blame circumstances for the choices I made. But it does help me understand a few things about myself. As I grew into adulthood, I pledged that if I ever had a child, he/she would regularly hear my love expressed.
At some point in the last year, I had a fortune cookie that said "The important thing is to express yourself." I saved that saying and added it to a frame with other words and numbers of inspiration in it. The writer in me has always known the truth behind the saying, but that writer hasn't always had the confidence to express myself in a public format. I owe a significant debt of gratitude to my friend Jenny who helped me find a new voice, who helped bring an essayist out of a poet. We collaborated on a book about our breast cancer experiences, being diagnosed within a month of each other. Jenny the novelist and Lisa the poet wrote essay after essay. It was a stretch for both of us, but that stretch and Jenny's support and encouragement brought a voice out in me that I never knew I had. The book remains in manuscript form, but it has already helped bring me to the next level of writing pursuits. Thanks Jenny!
Since then, "express yourself" has taken on more confidence and meaning for me. Commentaries in newspapers and guest blogposts followed. Then, this blog was born.
Spoken. Written. Typed. Thought. Expressed. Words are what it is all about.
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