the write it out project

(image from Alida)

clicking on the image above will lead you to an amazing story by Alida of the blog imakestuff4fun where she has begun The Write It Out Project. I am planning on participating myself and i encourage you to do so as well!

Alida is an Iraq War widow and has started this project to help other women like herself. in her own words, "I am starting what I'd like to call the Write It Out Project, handmade journals for grieving military widows...making stuff is my reaction to the world around me. when my friends are sick, having a baby, or just having a hard time I Make Stuff. When I am feeling the grief particularly strongly, I Make Stuff. It makes me feel as if I have some control."

All you have to do is decorate a journal in a loving and creative way and send it on to her for distribution (you can find a tutorial in Alida's original post here and more details here).

a war widow i am not, but her words struck me as i have found solace in a very similar fashion in times of grief and difficulty. i am not quite ready to share my own story, but I have always found that journaling and seeking out creative projects is an incredibly powerful tool against sadness and pain. When all else seems chaotic and dark, i can take control of my time, my energy, and my brain and put them to work towards something useful and beautiful by forging ahead with scrapbooks, collages, sewing, knitting, writing, anything creative that harnesses the good that can be so ephemeral in times of hardship.

i don't think it matters in the least how one feels about the war itself. certainly we can all agree that this small effort on our parts would mean a great deal to these deserving women and help them to find both peace and power in their own creativeness.