Monsters. Owls. Rest. Honor.

EXERCISE 066: MAKE A MONSTER

all the things the monster can do

Make a monster by taking a known animal or critter and multiplying one of its body parts (600-eyed horse; two-tongued pigeon; four-armpit uncle). Describe all the things the monster can do that it couldn’t do if it only had the conventional number of body parts.

A 1000-ear owl lives in a tree outside my house. I have always been fascinated by owls. Their wisdom and perception. Their serenity and beauty. Their stoicism and humor. Think about how an owl with 1000-ears could listen and hear. What if their majesty was matched by their ability to listen and hear? In a world where information comes at us every minute of the day, making the distinction between listening (giving our attention to a sound) and hearing (the faculty of perceiving sound) is important. 

I struggle with listening and hearing. My thousand-ear owl could teach me about it. What could I learn from a thousand-ear owl? I could better understand the connection between wisdom and listening and hearing. I could appreciate silence more deeply, having developed my capacity to discern and distill and separate information from noise. I could practice the moment when I take a breath before reacting.

If an owl had 1000 ears, they could hear into the future and warn of storms. If an owl had 1000 ears, they could hear conversations from great distances and learn secrets and decide to keep them, or not. If an owl had 1000 ears, they could compose beautiful symphonies of earth sounds and magical voices. If an owl had 1,000 ears, their world would be live and in stereo.

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EXERCISE 067: SHARE THE ORIGIN OF YOUR MONSTER

first encounter

Name your monster. Tell the story of its name. Tell the story of how you first encountered the monster.

A 1000-ear owl, Melody, lives outside my house. Their name is Melody because of their amazing capacity to listen and hear and turn life into music. I first heard Melody the week we moved in. I was sitting on our deck taking a deep breath before the day and I could hear a beautiful sound. It was early in the morning and the usual sound of the trucks delivering stuff to a nearby store and traffic as the city woke up was drowned out by a beautiful melody. The song was strange yet familiar, dissonant and harmonious, complicated and simple. Like John Prine paradise and Philip Glass metamorphosis. Like Lucinda Williams’ car wheels and Emily Dickinson’s Hope. An owl emerged over the horizon and perched on a magnolia tree whose leaves still had their wax. I watched it turn its head and hold the world in stereo.

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EXERCISE 068: EXAMINE YOUR MONSTER

can the monster help you?

Considering all the things the monster can do that it couldn’t do before, how can the monster help you? Tell a story in which the monster helps you.

I need to listen and hear. I need to step into the wisdom of which Meolody sings. I need to build and create with my eyes and ears. In 1000 ways. Through 1000 eyes and ears. Melody helped me understand. Melody helped me breathe. Melody helped me calm down. Monday mornings, especially, I search for Melody. I see Melody, on the magnolia tree. I close my eyes and say a quick prayer for the week. Melody sings a sweet song telling me that it’s going to be alright. It’s going to be alright. It’s going to be alright. Maybe I need to hear that everyday. 

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EXERCISE 069: PUT YOUR MONSTER TO REST

“to remind” or “to teach.”

It’s exhausting to be a monster! A monster is just a figure that shows us something that we’re afraid of—from the Latin menere, meaning “to remind” or “to teach.” Monsters do not rage all the time; they need somewhere to rest.

Write a page informing your monster of the place they can finally lie down (or hang upside down or go into icy hibernation doing handstands). What does the monster’s body look like at rest? And where?

Melody, may you lay your vigilance down. May your thousand ears hear music. May your thousand ears hear truth. May your thousand ears hear stories. May your eyes see beauty. May your feathers float with ease. May your talons release the weight you carry. At rest, may your wisdom bring you peace. At rest, may your discernment bring you understanding. At rest, may your song lift us all. 

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EXERCISE 070: HONOR YOUR MONSTER

farewell to your monster

Write a song that bids farewell to your monster. 

Sweet Melody, I hear you. Sweet Melody, I hear you. Sweet Melody, I hear you. 

I welcome your wisdom. I welcome your strength. I welcome your courage. 

I am listening and hearing. I am listening and hearing. I am listening and hearing

You are 1000 perfect times. You are clarity in confusion. You are light in darkness. 

You are with me. You are with me. You are with me.

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