by Nancy Casey
It’s common to sleep with a pillow under your head at night. Then your head rests on something soft and your neck is supported.
Lots of us use other nighttime pillows, too. A pillow between the knees or rolled up against the spine helps some people with back pain. People with injuries or aches often find it soothing to put a pillow under the part that hurts.
Lots of chairs have built-in pillows. Sometimes we add more: behind the low back and under the feet or wrists.
When you see images of someone healing from sickness or injury, you are likely to see pillows. Maybe you have been that person and you remember your pillows.
Pillows make life a tad easier. Bringing someone a pillow is often a gesture of kindness. In cartoon-heaven where everything is perfect, people wander around on billowy, pillowy clouds.
Today, write about the many different places you could and do put pillows.
Perhaps you will explain personal pillow discoveries and describe where you habitually put the pillows that give you comfort, either asleep or awake. Maybe you will tell about pillows that you have arranged for someone else.
You could also write about imaginary pillows. Can you think of a situation that would be a whole lot better for everyone involved if somehow a few pillows could be slipped under it?
Maybe you know someone who has something stressful and important coming up, like a job interview or a big exam. Maybe it’s someone who is having difficulties in their life. Maybe that “someone” is you, maybe not. Where could you put an imaginary pillow and how would it ease things along? If you could give the pillow special powers, what would they be?
Imagine all the different ways—big and small—you could change the world by adding pillows. Write about some of them.
When you have finished, give your work a title. Make sure the date is on it somewhere, too. Add decoration and color to the page as needed. Here is an example of what a person could write.
You can share what you have written by posting it as a comment below. You can type in your work. Or post a picture of it.
Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. Sometimes she teaches writing classes at the Recovery Center. You can find more of her work here. She offers (free!) writing help to anyone in recovery. This can be for any kind of writing project—resumes, letters, stories novels—email latahrecoverycenter@gmail.com for more information.
Latah Recovery Community Center, Inc. 