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“Sweet Darkness”
“You must learn one thing. The world was made to be free in.” — David Whyte Many of you told me how much you enjoyed the post featuring Mary Oliver’s “Invitation” this week — so I’ll continue our celebration of National Poetry Month with an old favorite. Sometimes the right poem can work its magic immediately. And sometimes it depends on what you’re going through at the time you read it. David Whyte’s “Sweet Darkness” is one such poem for me. Revisiting it today, I am struck this time by the sheer power of its last three lines. This heart-stopping poem reminds us that loneliness could be an invitation to…
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Funny Friday: True stories
“You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.” ~Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
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Following your inner compass: “The Journey”
“And there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own.” — Mary Oliver The greatest gift of maturing is finding your own power and discovering who you are meant to be — not what others think you should be or want you to be. But the road to authenticity isn’t without obstacles. Mary Oliver’s “The Journey” gives us a new map. It’s one of my all-time favorite poems and has become a personal anthem. A great poem reminds us that the personal is universal, and this one brings shivers of recognition each time I read it aloud in my writing workshops. –CL THE JOURNEYBy Mary Oliver One…
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“Wild Geese”
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination.” — Mary Oliver Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese” touches a tender place in my soul, and I often share it with students in my workshops. It always sparks compelling personal stories and discussions after I read it aloud. As a child in Sunday school, I was terrified of disappointing the punitive, restrictive God portrayed in our leather-covered bibles. No matter how “good” I was, or how closely I followed the rules, I still felt judged and unworthy. Today, I follow my own moral compass, and I try not to allow the judgment of others to overshadow my…
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The right tools?
“Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’ Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.” ~George Herbert Procrastination is so easy to justify. We convince ourselves that we can’t begin (or finish) a project until we’ve acquired the right workspace, a totally clear calendar, or a special set of tools or equipment … Or until the stars align perfectly in our personal universe. That’s when the tools we need the most are motivation, a can-do attitude, and the sheer will to start or finish the project. What have you been…
