gemini rites #8

an update on my novel + the artist's way week 2 reflections

morning pages got me like

I write to you from Cafe Java, one of my favorite cafes in the center of Helsinki. I don’t come here as often these days, though it holds a lot of nostalgia for me, and serves as a distinct spiritual checkpoint. When I came to Finland back in 2021, I visited this cafe on one of my first days here. I remember sitting in the exact same spot as I am now — upstairs, overlooking the slow waves of movement outside, marveling at the people going about their business and realizing that I, after so many months of hoping and dreaming and planning, had become one of them.

Now, on Valentine’s Day when I write this, a thin layer of ice cakes the gray cobbled streets. Delicate wisps of snow cross-hatch the air. Trams slink by, green and unperturbed. Beside me, next to my laptop and notebook is a decaf oat milk latte, swirling with silky foam in a tall clear glass, and a danish speckled with fresh raspberries. Today is my artist date.

I’ve officially begun the Artist’s Way — for real this time. I’ve spent the last two months or so reading the book and getting into the rhythm of writing morning pages every day. But now I’ve committed fully, meaning that I’m also doing the tasks outlined in each of the twelve weeks.

It’s early in my creative recovery (week 2), but I’ve already witnessed a shift.