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The 40 Reasons “Why” Challenge
Bryan Hutchinson over at Positivewriter.com is challenging his readers to a “Why I Write” challenge. I know we aren’t all writers, but we all have ‘that thing’ we do. You might love dancing. Maybe you paint, maybe you scrapbook your photos. We all need a creative outlet. What’s yours? Listing the reasons we write is a popular exercise for writers. It’s a good reminder for those times when we just can’t get ourselves to practice. I’ve journaled my list at least a couple of times over the years. Since it’s been a while, I think I’ll accept Bryan’s invitation to sit down and consciously revisit mine with, perhaps, some…
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What’s Your Thread?
Last month, I was a presenter and attendee at Journal Conference 2016: Pioneering the Next 30 Years. It was one of those unique magical experiences that comes only from a gathering of like-minded people, sharing with and inspiring one another. One evening Christina Baldwin and Ann Linnea, of Peer Spirit, presented a group of engaged writers with this William Stafford poem. The Way It Is There’s a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change. People wonder about what you are pursuing. You have to explain about the thread. But it is hard for others to see. While you hold it you can’t get lost.…
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Starting The New Year Off “Write”
“In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.” – Alex Haley Today, I’d like to share my plans for 2016. I hope you’ll share in my excitement as I launch my journal writing workshop business, Writing Life Matters. My first pilot class – Journal Your Legacy – is coming up fast. I’ve realized that the time has come for many of our children to leave the nest — or maybe they already have. Although you’ve done all you can for your kids – taught them how to be their best possible selves, given them an education, and more importantly unlimited love –…
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Writing Family Matters
How many times have you been sitting around the dinner table when a senior family member tells a tale of some past experience and you’re so drawn in, you forget you ate dessert? Before you know it time has flown by, grandpa is ready to go home and you are left craving more. We are pulled into the past as though we are gathered at the storyteller’s feet, listening to a favourite childhood fairy tale, “Once upon a time….” and we are enrapt. We want to know the stories of those who came before us. When I was a child, my Great Aunt Mabel was like that. She knew the…
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Where I’m From
I have always believed that in order to know where you’re headed, you need to know where you’ve been. I was inspired to write my “Where I’m From” piece by Lisa Hall-Wilson. It’s from a fun and easy to follow template shared by Sharla Lovelace. I have linked their posts for your enjoyment. You can find the template here. Why not give it try? Here is what I came up with. Where I’m From… I am from Fanta Orange Soda, Wint-o-Green Lifesavers that sparked in your mouth when you chewed them in a dark closet and grape Popsicles that dripped on your bathing suit after running through the sprinkler on a hot day.…
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Sisters by Choice
I belong to a special little group called The Heart Writers, my honorary sisters. We are connected through journal writing and the belief that writing has power – the transformative power of clarity, direction and connection to self. It’s that same power that brought us together in June of 2011. In our individual homes we are mothers, wives, partners, sisters and friends. In community, we are four very different women who write and share. We’ve created an environment where it is safe to be vulnerable, open and honest. Now we know each other like no other. Where one of us leaves off, another takes up. We all benefit. We met…
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What Do You Do All Day? – Part 2
Two years ago, I met a writer and poet named Louise Mathewson at a journal writing retreat where I shared my writing dream. After the retreat, I arrived home to an email from her with advice that read something like, “I keep a sticky note on my computer that says, ‘Writing is my Job.’ It helps.” Yes, it does help and I do see writing as my job now. So, as I was saying in What Do You Do All Day? – Part I, I show up every morning, hoping to find a work of art or, at least, a morsel of brilliance in my writing from the day before.…
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Too Excited to Sleep
‘Tis the season to reflect on the year gone by. In the series of events that shaped my past year, there was one dazzling five-day period that stands out against the rest. I had been dreaming for many years of making the trip to the Denver area for a women’s journal writing retreat hosted by Kay Adams of The Center for Journal Therapy. I earned my certification to teach Journal to the Self, with Kay, through the Center about 8 years ago and always had a wish to work with Kay in person. On June 20, 2011 that dream came true for me. I was picked up at Denver airport…
