Tapping into the Fountain of Youth-Guest post by Joanna Paterson

I asked Joanna to write a brief post to introduce us to her journey with writing and creativity. What she wrote made me want to get out a fountain pen and write, climb a tree, and and and…you’ll see. To evoke beauty and meaning while inspiring others to discover their own process is a precious gift. Thank you, Joanna.

By Joanna Paterson

There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age ~ Sophia Loren

Watching women start to write, to journal, to free their words, to share some small part of themselves I have also seen them:

• Smile more
• Laugh more
• Cry more
• Clamber up into a tree, pen and paper in hand
• Breathe out into the stretch of their own perfect skin
• Paint more
• Sing more
• Apologize less
• Stand up taller
• Listen with kindness to what others have to say
• Craft poems
• Tell stories
• Take photos
• Share a piece of their past
• Live louder
• Cry more
• Laugh more
• Smile

And if that’s not beauty, I don’t know what is.

Joanna Paterson is a journal and writing coach who helps people tap into the power of their own words.  She shares creative ways to get through the middle of life at The Mid Life Journal. She has also started a Facebook Page.