Walking is joy. I love walking like I love Ira Glass and peanut butter cups. I am surprised that since I moved back to America from London, that I have given it up. Just basically decided that even though it is one of my favorite things to do in the world, I am not even…
Tag: On Work
On moving toward money, and meaning.
1 + 10 = More Real Me in 2011
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Day 11, #Reverb10 Prompt: What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? (Thanks Sam Davidson!) The one thing I know I can get rid of in 2011 is living up to others expectations of me. This is assuming, of course, that those expectations are real. Perhaps…
“Your Life’s Work of Art has Already Begun”
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Day 10, #Reverb10 Prompt: Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out? (Thanks, Susannah Conway!) “To create a work of art you’re proud of, step back on occasion, ask for feedback, paint over, change directions, and switch your medium. Just don’t wait to begin to paint, don’t…
It Takes a (Christmas) Village?
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#Reverb Day 6 Prompt: Make: What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it? (Thanks, Gretchen Rubin) I made cookies (seen pictured), 500 or so of them for a church fundraiser. Well, actually I just rolled…
Finding Wonder in the Small
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#Reverb10, Day 4 Prompt: Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? (by author Jeff Davis @JeffreyDavis108) Wonder isn’t an experience: it is a spiritual geographical location, a destination I can choose to visit, or live in. It is exactly a “sense” — just like smell or sight. I…
Don’t Make Me Look: Writing, Scorned.
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Yeah it’s now 2:30 and I HAVE been awake since 7 a.m. and yes I HAVE thought about this Day 2, #Reverb10 prompt and I suppose I HAVE had at least TWO chances already to write this post, but I HAVEN’T and whose fault is that I’d like to ask but I won’t because if…
Details Are Forever
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On Writing Beautifully: Another Part Writing lives through images which cut and scar us. We don’t remember wise pontifications. We remember bleach spilled on boiling pine boards. Good writing bruises us with its visions, then leaves its scent upon us when she departs. See (and feel) here… “Workers began to occupy the this particular flat-building…
Zen and the Art of Tedium
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A conversation about boredom at Scoutie Girl yesterday got me thinking again about the daily tasks that constitute part of the “work” of my life. Not the least of these is feeding a family of six. Not the worst of them is laundry. Some I despise for no particular reason, like emptying the dishwasher. Whenever…
Laundry, and Love
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I get to feel superior to socks when I am conquering a load of laundry. That is sort of cool, isn’t it? There’s a swathe of the backyard that is leaf-free. Just one corner. (Well it was yesterday). I did that. I own that. Housework is menial work. Which is to say “humble” or “lowly”…
Where the Wild Onion Grows
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Wild onions grow everywhere here. I smell them through the moon roof on those particular weekend days when men are at home in their kingdom yards, busy mowing alone and in harmony. If I made this up, forgive me, but I think maybe someone told me that a long time ago this entire area was…
Peace is the Word
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On Setting Peace in Stone “Compassion is kindness. What we say or do in the name of compassion rarely is.” —from Karen Maezen Miller today, via TweetDeck. This weekend, I cleaned a closet. And felt like a minor superhero. I imagine what Jimmy Carter must feel like, in those moments of action, when he has…
Enter the Storm
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I like to see people who write –all people who sit down and write, not just those who call themselves “writers” — to try to write beautifully and meaningfully. One of the writing concepts that I teach is this: Complicate the Metaphor To make writing more meaningful, we all need to back the f*ck away…
DIY: ‘Between Desire and Reality’
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Ok, so I know it’s Thursday — one day late for We Scout Wednesday— but isn’t that status quo on any DIY project? Scoutie Girl asked us: why do you DIY, then answered herself better than I could ever put it. “DIY fills the void between desire and reality. If God can create an Eve…
I Need You Now… More Than Words Can Say
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I’ve mentioned before that I am making some changes to my blog, and that they will be happening over the course of time. Key to the success of my space, though, is making it a bit less MINE and a bit more YOURS. We like to think of ourselves as islands — There’s ME and…
Into the Night
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I have a terrible time writing in first person. It’s a long, dark walk into the night to find the place where you can spill yourself. It’s high and hard to climb. It’s where you exist as: “Me” but where you no longer belong to yourself. First person exposes you. The wind blows harder here.…
