Birthday Wish: 10 Minutes with Paper and Pen
Video Transcript, edited for readability
I have a birthday wish: grab some blank paper and a pen and give yourself 10 minutes.
Turn off all the noise, all the nonsense.
Just you, a blank sheet of paper, and a pen.
What I would love for you to do is create this beautiful space between your beautiful brain and body and that piece of paper.
Use those 10 minutes to get what's inside here out onto this surface.
Anything goes. There's no right answer, no wrong answer—only the release and relief of getting all the stuff that's in here out onto that piece of paper for 10 minutes.
Make this quiet, beautiful little bubble that gives you the opportunity to get the stuff out.
What Can Go on This Piece of Paper?
Again, no right answer, no wrong answer—just whatever comes out.
Thoughts
They can be positive, negative, or anything in between.
Feelings
They can also be positive, negative, or anything in between.
Physical sensations
Always useful information. What would this look like? Could be positive like a nice chill zone, negative like tension or pain, or anything in between.
Get that stuff out without judgment.
See what happens when you make this space between you, your beautiful body, your beautiful mind, and a blank sheet of paper.
Tools to Express What's Inside
Words |
Images |
Shapes |
Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simply write down what comes to mind. Don't worry about spelling, grammar, or audience. | Simple as symbols, icons, or more detailed drawings, at any level of drawing experience works. | Simple squares, blobs, circles, can be expressive too. Play with repetition, size, or overlap. | Drawing a blank? SCRIBBLE. Just make some marks and see what comes out. |
Here's a timer for you:
It's probably going to feel uncomfortable.
You might go into it thinking you've got all these thoughts you're going to write down, and then you wonder where these emotions came from.
All of it—whatever comes up, whatever comes out and gets on that piece of paper—
It is simply information.
No need to judge it, no need to organize it.
Just get it out in that quiet little bubble between you and that piece of paper.
After Your 10 Minutes
Look at the piece of paper. See if there's anything insightful or useful. Take note. If you decide you want to do something, do that thing.
Then crumple up the piece of paper and go on with your day.
But just that breather, those 10 minutes, that space between you and that piece of paper, is a wonderful gift in itself.
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