“something fresh and howling”

I found this phrase in an old journal where I was writing about what might come next in my life, and thought it wonderful. I knew that the words were not mine but couldn’t remember where they had come from. Over a year later, I found the phrase again in a notebook of writing fragments, and could then trace it back to the original writing prompt. Now I want to share its power to deal with contradictions and extremes .

Here is the original writing prompt from Natalie Goldberg’s Old Friend from Far Away and some of my writing in response to it, now over 5 years old.

My writing didn’t change things immediately. But it did help to recognise possibilities as they appeared over the horizon. I am so grateful to Natalie Goldberg for offering this “fresh and howling” alternative to the “mush” of unsatisfactory compromises. I think it has much wider application to whatever extremes and conflicts are puzzling you.

 So here’s an adapted version of the task that you might want to try:

Notice what feels like unsatisfactory mush in your life and try to unearth the “bold restless extremes” in yourself that this mush is trying to resolve.

Let yourself draw / paint / write / sing / dance about these extremes to know them better 

and do this some more

Listen for the “something fresh and howling” that may be faintly emerging – allow it to reveal itself.