Dear , Happy Thanksgiving! While the word of the week is "poultry" (and if you engage in eating some, may it be delicious), I wanted to give you a special word of the day, "praise," inspired by a poem that has lifted my heart over and over again, Barbara Crooker's "Praise Song," which contains the lines:
... Praise the blue sky
that hasn't cracked yet. Praise the sun slipping down
behind the beechnuts, praise the quilt of leaves
that covers the grass: Scarlet Oak, Sweet Gum,
Sugar Maple...
If you have five minutes today (or any day soon), check
out the perfect Thanksgiving, praise-loving prompt below. And may your Thanksgiving weekend give you plenty to praise, as well as a few quiet moments to drink in the gift it is to be here in this lovely world...
Thank you so much for the privilege and honor of WordPlaying with you. I am very grateful for your presence in my life.
Love and light, Maureen
WordPlay Now! Writing
Prompt This is WordPlay—so why not revel in the power and
potential of one good word after another? Today, it's "praise."
PROMPT: Read Barbara Crooker's "Praise
Poem." Set a timer for three minutes, and Sprint away, beginning with the word "Praise..." It's your opportunity to praise anything at all you appreciate. Then read your words out loud. This is even better done with others.
MAUREEN RYAN GRIFFIN, an award-winning poetry and nonfiction writer, is the author of Spinning Words into Gold, a Hands-On Guide to the Craft of Writing, a grief workbook entitled I Will Never Forget You, and three collections of poetry, Ten Thousand Cicadas Can't Be Wrong, This Scatter of Blossoms and When the Leaves Are in the Water. One of her long-held dreams came true in July of 2015 when Garrison Keillor read one of her poems on The Writer's Almanac. She believes, as author Julia Cameron says, "We are meant to midwife dreams for one another."
Maureen also believes that serious "word work" requires serious WordPlay, as play is how we humans best learn—and perform. What she loves best is witnessing all the other dreams that come true for her clients along the way. Language, when used with
intentionality and focus, is, after all, serious fuel for joy. Here's to yours! |
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