Art is good for you. Christmas Wrapped Up.

I was feeling pretty stressed today and it was getting me down. I always feel a creeping sense of anxiety as the New Year gets nearer and today wasn't a great day for various reasons. But I did have something to look forward to - a Zoom creative writing class. 

I haven't done any creative writing since I was at school so I was a bit nervous. I'd signed up for it on a whim but I'm glad I did. We started with a bit of freewriting and some sharing of our initial thoughts on the topic of Christmas. Hearing others read out some of their ideas really helped me shape mine. After that, we had some time to hone our poem. This is mine;

Decorations, tinsel, handmade cards

Christmas lights in the busy stores

Christmas Carols and Midnight Mass

I’m lonely in the crowd.

Everyone else with their families

Feeling the pressure to belong

Is that really the Christmas Spirit?

It’s simpler on my own

The glitz is overwhelming

Too much cash spent on nothing

Money can’t buy anyone’s love

No matter how much you have.

A Christmas wreath and Christmas lights

The Wizard of Oz, Morecambe and Wise, 

Nut roast and a mince pie

That’s my Christmas wrapped up.

It's better than I was expecting to come up with, even if it is a bit dour. Most of the group were a bit down about Christmas as it happens which I thought was interesting in itself. Anyway, Christmas will be done and dusted by the time of next month's session which is already in my diary. 

After a couple of hours doing something completely different, my mood lifted. Art is clearly good for you and I recommend you try this stuff. You never know what you might discover about yourself and others.

As a bonus, here are The Waitresses with their hit, Christmas Wrapping.