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Everything you love
“I am all the things I have ever loved.” ~Toni Morrison, American author Last year I coached a journaling workshop titled “List Yourself.” As the title suggests, we made lists of all kinds — lists of favorite films, lists of accomplishments, lists of pet peeves, lists of people who’ve inspired or helped us, bucket lists, and so on. The practice of list-making might seem simplistic at first, but it leads to profound self-awareness and discovery — and also provides many “prompts” for blocked writers. If you make a list of all the things you love, for instance, you’ll see a life-affirming self-portrait taking shape on the page — just as…
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Memorial Day
“Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt There’s an important difference between Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day. On Veteran’s Day we honor those who served in our U.S. military; on Memorial Day we commemorate those who died defending our country. But we might lose sight of the sobering reason for Memorial Day while we enjoy our family picnics, plant our gardens, or shop the holiday sales. So, no matter what you’re doing with your long weekend, please pause to remember the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the countless privileges we enjoy today. As novelist Cynthia Ozick wrote, “We often take for…
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Just do it
“Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” ~Andy Warhol I’ve always believed that artists are truly courageous people. When it comes to expressing creativity, fear is usually what stops other people in their tracks — not lack of talent. Fear of failure … Fear of looking foolish … Fear of being misjudged. Everyone who is reading this post has a creative gift to share or express. If you can quiet the fearful inner voices that discourage you, you’ll start to paint, write, play music,…
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Throwback Thursday: “Make music of what you can”
Good morning, friends! Today I’m re-posting an old favorite for new subscribers… I always knew I wanted to be a writer. When I was a kid, I perched in the gnarly apple tree in my backyard and scribbled stories in a notebook with lined pages. In college I majored in English and journalism, but it took a few more years to find the courage (and the income) I needed to begin a real writing career. The zig-zag path that led me here was marked with detours and littered with excuses. After graduation, I worked at other jobs where I learned some valuable lessons — including what I didn’t…
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Friendly advice from Pooh Corner
“You can’t stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.” ~A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh Lately there’s been a lot of press about the “epidemic of loneliness” in America. Apparently, despite our social media connections, we’re not fully engaging with others in healthy, three-dimensional ways. Here’s the deal: Good relationships require initiation and effort. Too often, I’ve seen others hang back in silence and blame their loneliness on others — because others don’t reach out to them. Maybe they fear rejection. Maybe they’re too shy. Or maybe they’re just too busy to initiate an actual social plan. (“Let’s get…
