Writing from the Wild Within

 

Rain hammered the windows at Brown Hill Uniting Church, but the fourteen gathered inside the warmth of the hall stayed cosy and warm. The group seated at the tables, pens and journals in front of them, spanned generations: the youngest was just nineteen, the oldest well into retirement. Some were seasoned writers and others hadn’t put pen to paper in years, but all were hoping for an evening of creativity and connection with themselves and with nature. And so we started, with a guided visualisation to a place in nature dear to the hearts of each individual attendee, before returning to the page to capture what they’d noticed there.

 

For many, the visualisation itself was the highlight, acting as a rare moment of stillness in an otherwise busy week. Others were struck by how differently they were able to view their chosen place once they had the opportunity to slow down and really notice it. For much of the evening, the only sound was the quiet scratching of pens on paper.

 

Those who wanted to share their writing did, while the rest of the group sat with their words. No two visions of “nature” were alike, but there were common threads that ran through the experiences and the writing produced that evening. Some left with a renewed passion for the written word, already planning to incorporate some of the exercises from the workshop in their journalling practice.

 

 

All in all, it was a beautiful experience. And the requests for more have been heard loud and clear! We will be running the same workshop in Blackwood come September, and new experiences are being developed and will be brought to you soon.