Happy Mojo Monday, Pinkies! How’re you feeling? What’s your Mojo Quotient today? On a scale of one to ten, where are you right now? I became a certified Laughter Yoga instructor this weekend, so my Mojo is at about 9 ½ today, after hanging out with a group of amazing women, laughing my ass off, and becoming empowered to affect healing and change by guiding people into their own joy. As my workshop leader Carmela Carlyle said, “Happiness is fickle. Happiness is fleeting. Joy is a choice.” Isn’t that so true, Pinkies? So often happiness is conditional. You tell yourself, “I would be happy if only __ (get the perfect job, find the perfect lover, buy the perfect house, etc).” Joy, however, is unconditional. You can CHOOSE joy- any time, any place.
Yeah, yeah, sounds good, Lissa. But how am I supposed to be joyful when I am in the midst of a divorce/ just lost a loved one/ can’t get pregnant/ just got diagnosed with cancer/ lost my mojo? You choose, Pinkies. Remember what Pink Posse guru Jo Perron said? “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” And joy is a choice.
Today, for our Mojo Monday exercise, we’re going to make (rat-a-tat-tat….drum roll) a Joy Journal. This exercise is even more fun if you can do it with a Pink Sister, or even better, a Pink Posse. Do you know anyone else who needs to Own Pink? Can you think of who might join you? I’ll bet your friends are used to getting together for cocktails, but when was the last time you invited them over for an art project? You’ll be surprised how much Pink energy you can generate by gathering your fellow Pinkies together with the intention of helping, inspiring, bonding, and healing each other.
You will need:
A spiral notebook
Glue
Blank paper
Magazines, photos, greeting cards, newspapers, or other paper sources of inspirational images and words
Colorful instruments of creativity- magic markers, pencils, pens, pastels, watercolors, highlighters, acrylic paint, White Out- whatever you have
The right side of your brain
Optional: Glitter, ribbon, confetti, paper dolls, stickers. If you really want to go nuts, check out a scrapbooking supply store. They’re filled with Pink inspiration.
Step 1: Gather all your fun Pink paper products. (They don’t have to be literally Pink- they just need to inspire your Pinkness.)
Step 2: Pull out some blank paper and your colorful tools of creativity.
Step 3: Flip through the magazines, photos, etc. Pay attention to images that speak of Pinkness to you. Don’t question your choices. Let your Pink intuition rule! Cut out those images and set them aside.
Step 4: Now take a look at the colorful instruments of creativity you pulled out. Gather them in front of you and close your eyes. Allow yourself to envision a Pink image. Maybe for you, Pinkness looks like standing up for yourself at work. Or maybe it means spending a day by yourself, taking a hike at sunrise, or hanging out with your girlfriends. Whatever makes you feel empowered.
Step 5: Keeping your eyes closed and staying in this bountiful place of Pinkness, pick one of your creative instruments. If you picked blue and you really hate blue, put it back and do it again. Make it fun, but don’t engage Ella (your left brain, as is L-ah. Thanks Pink Posse Creativity Coach Malaya Quinn for naming my left brain Ella. It really helps me keep her under control). This exercise is all for Ari (what I named my right brain, as in R-ee).
Step 6: Remaining in your Pink zone (close your eyes if you need to in order to disengage Ella), grab a piece of blank paper and go to town with the creative tool you chose. Scribble, draw, write, doodle, sketch, paint … whatever comes to you. Don’t judge it. This is not a competition, and Ari is in charge. Open yourself to whatever wants to come out. Switch tools and mix it up, if you feel like it. Let it be abstract, if you want. Your creation doesn’t have to look like anything. As my daughter’s favorite book, Ish, says, let it look “-ish.” As in, ocean-ish, butterfly-ish, flower-ish. Or you can be even more -ishy about it. Let it be love-ish, sad-ish, happy-ish, pissed off-ish, Pink-ish. You get the picture. (Get out of here, Ella!)
Step 7: Now cut out your favorite part of what you just created. Mixing it up with what you cut out from your Pink paper products, pull out the glue and create a collage on the cover of your notebook. Cover up the pink and orange polka dots or the loathsome Pokemon on the cover, and Own Pink your way. This is your journal, your witness, your art. Let it speak your language. If you feel like it, add glitter, ribbon, or the cool stuff you picked up at a scrapbooking store. Laugh, make mistakes, have fun, and let your Pink flag fly!
Step 8: Introduce yourself to your journal. Give her a name if you want. I’m going to call mine Bellini- Bella for short- because I want her to be fizzy, giddy, celebratory, unexpected, and Pink.
Step 9: Use this journal to record everything you can think of that brings you JOY this week. Carve out a few moments every day, preferably at the end, to reflect back and jot down your thoughts.
We’ll be adding on to this journal in upcoming Mojo Monday exercises. Your journal is going to help you Own Creativity, Own Your Voice, and Reclaim Your Joy. So thank your journal (and yourself) for all the insight, inspiration, joy, laughter, cathartic tears, creativity, and passion she’s going to bring to your life. And pat yourself on the back. You’ve just made a very big step towards Owning Pink. Congratulations Pinkie!
What brings you JOY today? What did you name your journal? Did you have fun decorating? If you feel like it, click on the contact link and send me a .jpeg of your journal, and I’ll post the photos. Oh, and join our Facebook page, Pinkies, and share your JOY with us there! We’ll be so stoked to laugh, love, share, and support you.
With sticky glue fingers, glitter, and Pink love,
Lissa
Tags: creative, creative writing, creativity, creativity journal, inspiration, inspirational, journal decorating, joy journal, motivation, motivational, writing
Dear Dr. Pink,
You are a joy! A Laughing Pink Goddess! I wish to work with you in the near future. It was such a delight to be with you this weekend.
Yours, in the pink,
Carmela
Oh, honey, it was such my pleasure. You have an amazing presence, and Christa & I had the time of our lives- a gigantic Joy infusion! Your laughter is contagious and your joie de vivre just radiates from you. What a blessing that you are in this world, Carmela. We will definitely be working together- of that, I’m certain. xoxo, you Pink Goddess Extraordinaire!