I've been writing forever – well, it feels I have, but serious writing didn't take place until I got out of an abusive relationship. Those years shut down my creativity for a long time and finished off what little self-esteem I had.

Years later, I had a driving desire to find my creativity again. I began listening to self-help tapes on creativity. Three people stand out in helping me find myself: David Whyte, who became my favorite poet and talked about "going into the well" (that place inside us where stuff gets buried); Julia Cameron advised writing “Morning Pages;” and Natalie Goldberg said to "Keep the pen moving." What I discovered was priceless. Here was what I’d been missing. I began writing daily and my life began to change for the better.

There’s something about the act of putting the words on the page that gets stuff out of me. There’s movement – as I let old thoughts out onto a page, new ideas are given room to come in. Also, seeing the written words of what I’m experiencing helps put issues in another context. The written words help me “see” what I’m going through instead of the feelings just spinning (and spiraling downward) in my head. I get a better understanding of the self.

I am intrigued by this huge release in my soul. Putting my feelings onto a page gives me joy, makes me feel I’ve accomplished something. It inspires new ideas and opens me up for greater possibilities.

The funny thing is, though, I am on a time limit. I get this in-pouring gush of creativity, then, as if someone flips a switch, it shuts off and I’m done, and it’s hard to force anything more. It’s not a set time; sometimes it’s only a few minutes and other times it can last a couple of hours. But for that time, I am released and filled and released again giving me the willpower to go on to other projects for the day.

My intent with my writings is not just about myself, but to make a connection to others. I am not alone in how I feel. People often say that what I write is exactly what they need to hear in the moment. It’s important to share stories. We can use the written word to connect, heal, and be wholehearted human beings.

Books by other people have inspired me further in my writing path direction. Daring Greatly by Brene Brown, Doreen Virtue’s The Courage to Create have helped brighten my creative flame, along with Wishes Fulfilled by Dr. Wayne Dyer. They’ve put into words what I often feel.

But the most inspiring book I’ve ever read is Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert. Her words speak to my soul and fanned the creative fires anew.

In 1995, I self published a little chapbook called They Will Never Write Songs about Me and in 1997, Dancing with Butterflies. Occasionally my poems are chosen for anthologies. In 2008 I won a second Editors Choice Award from the International Library of Poets. This one was for my poem Transformation. In 2010, My Life Isn’t Flowers, a beautiful book full of my poems, photographs, and pictures of my art work was published. I wrote a travel-memoir book with photographs, Too Cold for Alligators (available at www.amazon.com), about a solitary journey to Florida. I’ve written another travel-memoir and I am working on two more. I am also editor, freelance writer, and photographer for the InterTown Record, a local weekly newspaper.

Because Life ISN'T just about flowers. There are so many interesting aspects to experience, that I cannot narrow my focus into one medium. So, I write, draw, and take many photographs.

Please view my other sites and pages. Contact me if you’d like to purchase books and art work. View more poems at www.poetrypoem.com/sashapoems.

I am most honored to have you visit my site. Thank-you.