Weekly Wide-Awake #34

[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!

Melanie Faith

Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.

Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.

The Society of Professional Journalists

In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.

I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.

Maxine Greene

Philosopher and Education Scholar

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Work. Laughter. Memoir.

Living the Comma #6

A To-Do List. Giving. Sacred Centers.

“When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among the people, to make music in the heart.” — Howard Thurman

Dear Friends,

As we begin this sometimes-less-than-joyful-season, I want to suggest the work of Christmas begins today. Right now. This very moment. Thurman’s Christmas to-do list (a list which could extend to our everyday) makes sense to me — finding, healing, feeding, releasing, rebuilding, bringing, and making the world in which we want to live.

On Thanksgiving’s heals — in the spirit of giving thanks — I am sharing an article I published on giving in the December issue of City Lifestyle, “What Giving Taught Me.” May it ground this season in a smidge of heart and why.

On the writing front, let’s take a look at Jasper Young Bear’s prompt from the Book of Alchemy, “Sacred Center,” Peter Elbow’s thoughts on breathing experience into words, and Parker Palmer’s advice on listening to life. May each shed a little light on paying attention to our days, even and especially when those days might feel absolutely separate and isolated from each other and what really matters.

Our next face-to-face writing session is this Sunday, December 7th. To virtually connect with the group, let me know in the comments, direct message, or email, and I will send a meeting link.

As the holidays get underway, take a deep breath all the way down to your toes, pay attention to joy, and step into peace’s promise offered in this season.

From the heart of the comma,

Katie

Read entire post here.

MONDAYS ARE FREE EXERCISES 131—135

Character. Scene. Name. Laughter.

EXERCISE 135: QUICK DRILL FOR LAUGHTER AND MEDICINE

each time

Describe someone’s laugh five different ways, each time using a different simile or metaphor.

She laughs like fudge on ice cream. She laughs like butter on egg noodles. She laughs like ice melting snow. Laughter as medicine for our wounds, balm for our souls, lens for our comfort. Laughter as glasses clinking, clouds floating, joy breathing.

Read entire post here.