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How to find your voice: “The Journey”
“And there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own.” — Mary Oliver In my workshops, we often discuss the importance of finding or developing our own creative voices. It’s never easy. Every day, we are bombarded by a cacophony of inner critics, cultural norms, and religious and political pundits — not to mention all the mindless white noise generated by social media. We have to pull back and listen deeply to hear our own truth. Otherwise, we’re simply mimicking others when we speak, write, or design our lives. Mary Oliver’s “The Journey” gives us a new map. It’s one of my favorite poems about living…
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“Wild Geese”
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination.” — Mary Oliver “Wild Geese” is another favorite by Mary Oliver, whose Pulitzer Prize-winning poetry I’ve shared in previous posts. Listening to Anne Lamott’s Word by Word, an audio CD on creative writing, I learned that Lamott posted this poem near her desk — and advises all writers and artists to do the same. “Wild Geese” touched a tender place in my soul and freed something deep inside me. As a child, I was often frightened by the Biblical edicts outlined in the organized religions of my family and neighborhood friends. And I was terrified of…
