Uncovering the jewels

the quest for big magic through writing together in Jamaica

It’s hard to believe that it’s been exactly three weeks since we wrapped up Nature Nurture Nourish, the magical retreat that my friend Meghan and I organized in Treasure Beach, Jamaica last month. It was all about alignment between mind, body and spirit, while immersed in the peace and beauty of Treasure Beach and the warmth of the community there.

And yes, it was about as wonderful as it sounds! We’ve been posting reels and images from those glorious days on our Instagram, and I’ll certainly write more expansively about the experience here as well.

But today, I want to share with you the alchemy that occurred on Day 2 of the retreat, when our goal was to Nurture ourselves.

That morning, I turned to the good old Oxford English Dictionary for insight into the definition of “nurture,” which apparently means to encourage, foster, develop or cultivate. Over breakfast, I encouraged our group to think about what we each might want to foster or develop or cultivate or even savor, whether within ourselves or around us. What do we want to nurture, particularly from a creativity perspective?

Interestingly, when we kicked off the retreat, several of our guests referred to some of those things: music, dance, writing, crafting and more. Not everyone was sure or had actively considered the question before, but it quickly became clear that we were all seeking. Or perhaps more precisely, all on a journey towards evolution and growth. What a blessing!

So that morning, I recalled the words of Elizabeth Gilbert in her inspirational book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.

“I believe this is one of the oldest and most generous tricks the universe plays on us human beings, both for its own amusement and for ours: The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them. The hunt to uncover those jewels—that’s creative living. The courage to go on that hunt in the first place—that’s what separates a mundane existence from a more enchanted one. The often surprising results of that hunt—that’s what I call Big Magic.”

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As a humble contribution towards that quest, I led a guided writing circle in the late afternoon. It was my first time ever to do such a thing, but I must say that it was a pretty powerful experience.

The afternoon heat was still bearing down strongly, but we found respite under the covered gazebo in front of our lovely accommodation (Seaside Villa). To set the scene, let me also note that I wore a wrap dress in a hand-dyed breadfruit pattern (from Geometric Apparel, made in Jamaica) and jewelry from Rwanda.

“Breadfruit” wrap dress by Geometric Apparel

In recalling the creative practices that we said we wanted to nurture, I suggested that the practice of writing—and specifically journaling—is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal for unleashing these gifts. On the one hand, it can chart the path or give us a compass. I recalled the classic words of Joan Didion: “I don’t know what I think until I write about it.”

But I also referred to Jeannine Ouellette, whose Writing in the Dark community has been such a wonderful vessel for my own study of the craft of writing. On the gift of language, Jeannine writes:

“I know whales and dolphins have complicated communication systems, birdsong is a miracle, primates can learn sign language, my dog Frannie knows dozens of English words. But only humans write poetry. Language is the greatest gift of human existence, and our ability to use it better can change our lives.”

I shared with the group how language—and specifically writing—found me.

It’s no small coincidence that it unfolded in Jamaica, which is known as being a crucible for creativity. We learned earlier in the day about the history of reggae and Jamaican music (from my friend Jeff of Menzies Instruments / Jamaica Center for the Arts). But it’s also a well-known fact that writers have always gravitated towards the island as well, everyone from Ian Fleming, Alex Haley, Marlon James, Safiya Sinclair and more.

From the coffee table book by Assouline

It’s this fertile ground that has nurtured the Calabash Festival, which I wrote about last week in rounding up the 2025 edition, which took place just after our retreat. During our writing circle, I spoke about the beauty of the festival and the democracy and inclusivity of its open mic segment in particular.

In terms of my own incarnation as a writer, I talked about how it all started in Treasure Beach. Thanks to the heady combination of stillness, Caribbean breezes, skies peppered with stars and kaleidoscopic sunsets, poetry (and eventually this newsletter) flowed out of me—literally.

But as I shared with the group, it was at the same time that I started my first encounter with The Artist’s Way, the classic treatise on creativity by Julia Cameron. My friends Roberta and Jean-Marc had gifted it to me for my birthday that summer (thank you both!). While I’ve honestly never finished the 12-week course, I turn time and again to its two core practices: the artist’s date and morning pages.

August 2022

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You’re likely familiar with the concept of morning pages. I’ve written about it before. It’s simple: you write 3 pages freehand as soon as you wake up and ideally make this a regular and sustained practice. There are different incarnations (some people aren’t comfortable writing by hand, others might prefer to write at another time of day). I cycle in and out of seasons of consistent morning page writing, but I choose to always follow the instructions to a tee.

The “output” (which is strictly for your eyes only) isn’t necessarily profound. It’s essentially a brain dump. I write about things I have to do that day, dinner plans, how tired I am…but also…reflections about the day prior, snippets of dreams, insights, intentions. What I can attest is that it’s true what Julia Cameron says: it’s a transformational practice. When you write morning pages consistently, all kinds of creative alchemy tends to unfold. In my experience anyway.

— From Masterclass, here are 12 Tips for Writing Morning Pages —

And so, I encouraged our group to pick up the habit of morning pages or journaling more generally. As a practice in doing so together, I used an intriguing oracle deck that Meghan brought along: When My Soul Whispered by Melissa Selvaggio and Jess O’Connor (I’ve since ordered a set for myself). I asked everyone to pick a card from the facedown deck, each of them containing a word. You can see the cards we drew above. Across the 11 of us, these were our words:

• Advocate

• Journey

• Passion

• Manifest

• Limitless

• Unconditional

• Emotion

• Connected

• Empathy

• Microcosm

• Receptivity

For the rest of the 45 minutes, we sat together in comfortable silence and journaled about our respective words. I encouraged everyone to link their words to the things that they were seeing and experiencing in Treasure Beach and to use all of the senses to make the writing come alive. Not such a tall order in that ecosystem of sensory delight, where we breathed in bougainvillea-scented breezes, savored juicy mangoes for breakfast and fell asleep to the roar of ocean waves.

Most of us chose to write in these lovely notebooks designed by Ahwhadat, printmaker and Creative Director of Treasure Beach’s Callaloo Butik. These gems were included in our Nature Nurture Nourish gift bags, because having a beautiful vessel in which to write is always an inspiring bonus, in my experience.

In my case, I drew the word Journey. A perfect word to describe the experience of bringing to life the retreat as well as my own journey in Treasure Beach, which I continue to discover in new ways and layers each time.

Next week, I’ll share more about what I wrote as well as about the open mic that I ran on our closing night, against the magical backdrop of a bonfire on the beach. People shared the most amazing renderings and reflections, and it’s then that I fully realized what had transpired.

We uncovered—or began to uncover—the jewels.

We made big magic.