Start Where You Are: A Journal for Self-Exploration

Meera Lee Patel is a self-taught artist and author of My Friend Fear and Made Out of Stars. She creates work that inspires others to connect with themselves, each other, and the world around them. Visit her online at www.meeralee.com.

INTRODUCTION

It took me a long time to become comfortable with where I am.
 
I spent a lot of my years longing for the past or waiting for the future to arrive, confused about where I was and where I wanted to go.
 
Admitting to myself that I was confused and unsatisfied was difficult enough; the thought of actually doing something about it was a little too much to swallow. Instead, I welcomed distraction. I ventured down various paths for the sake of going somewhere, even though none of them took me close to where I wanted to go. I explored career paths because other people’s successes made me feel like I should want them, too. I grappled. I swayed. Nothing changed; it’s impossible to follow a dream that has no shape or outline.
 
When I realized that I couldn’t continue grasping for an invisible idea, feeling, or future, I began doing some of the more difficult work that comes along with introspection. I peeled back the layers in order to find out who I really was, what was most important to me, and what it was that I wanted to cultivate in my life.
 
The hardest questions are the ones that open doors. Every spread in this book features a universal life lesson paired with an exercise. These exercises, often taking the form of a chart, list, or written prompt, are designed to help you apply the sentiments behind each lesson to your life. As you continue throughout the book, you’ll find that some pages are harder than others – they’ll ask you to dig a little deeper, face some hidden truths, or let go of ideas that you’ve always carried with you.
 
There is no right or wrong way to complete this book. If you’re honest with your thoughts, these pages will serve as a mirror. You’ll become privy to various pieces of yourself – some that you know very well, and others that have previously gone unnoticed. 
 
The best advice I can give is to keep going. The process of self-discovery is just as important as any realizations that are waiting for you at the end of this book.
 
Take your time. Use what you have. Start where you are.