[WordPlay Word-zine] This week, make time for some “shinrin yoku”
Published: Wed, 10/21/20
The WordPlay Word-zine
Volume IX, Issue 43
October 21, 2020
Word of the Week: forest
Dear ,
I got a surprise birthday present all the way from England in the mail last week from today's featured WordPlayer, Kelly Bennett. I'd mentioned in our Wednesday Under Construction class that my seven-year-old grandson Rhys is fascinated by geography and she sent me two books to share with him, If You Lived Here: Houses of the World and What a Wonderful Word: A Collection of Untranslatable
Words from Around the World. (Kelly's thoughtfulness and generosity is legendary among her friends.) What fun lies ahead for Rhys and me!
The synchronicity of receiving this particular book, which I'd never heard of—from Kelly herself, no less—made me laugh out loud. Kelly had no way of knowing that I'd changed my mind about which of her blog posts I was going
to share as this week's featured writing, and had already chosen today's subject line with its "word from around the world," inspired by these sentences from her "Without Words" post: "The Japanese even have a phrase for it, 'shinrin yoku' or forest bathing, which connects for me with the feeling of refreshment we can get from a walk in the woods."
Last week, while my husband and I were in Spruce Pine, I went on a solitary hike to Stack Rock, off the Blue Ridge Parkway, and savored every moment of shinrin yoku, though I hadn't yet learned this term. It was just what I'd been needing.
Time alone in a forest is one of my favorite "restoratives," which is why I chose to share Kelly's piece about her love of "walks in and amongst the trees" (see below) rather than the originally planned "Across & Down."
You can't make this stuff up! Though sometimes I think that the fact that I keep a record of these kinds of gifts in my TAG, I'M IT! journal increases their number, or at the least has me awake and aware when they happen.
Kelly herself is a gift to me. We met over fifteen years ago when she took a class I offered up near Lake Norman, and shortly thereafter, she moved to England. One silver lining of the pandemic and my shift to online classes is having several past students who moved away join me for WordPlay, including Kelly. I'm so happy to get to introduce her to you through her blog,
which never fails to make me smile.
Stepping away to spend time walking in woods helps my writing flow better. I've found some of my best ideas there. How about you?
I created the process shared in these two books in June of 2002, shortly after my mother died, as a way to mindfully mourn this loss—and celebrate her life. I shared it with a beloved friend, the Reverend Rebecca Taylor, when she lost her father, and she encouraged me to make it available to others. Here it is, in two versions, both of which offer quotes, reflections, prompts, and space to write about your loved one, as well as beautiful photographs by Wendy H. Gill that enhance each part of the process. Either
version makes a thoughtful condolence gift for a friend or family member.
How Do I Say Goodbye? is for those of any faith, with quotes from many different sources to accompany the process. It can be purchased on Amazon here.
Praying You Goodbye is specifically for Christians, with accompanying quotes from Scripture chosen by Reverend Rebecca Taylor. It can be purchased on Amazon here.
Would you like your writing—prose and/or poetry—to be more
graceful, powerful, beautiful? Do you sometimes find poetry confusing or intimidating and wish you could “crack the code”? Or do you enjoy writing and reading poems, but want a more thorough understanding of what makes a poem good? Then this poetry extravaganza is for you. Expect a good time exploring what makes a poem a poem, gaining the knowledge you need to confidently create and revise poetry, and strengthening your writing skills in all genres.
It would be a joy and an honor to share what rocks about poetry with you.
HERE’S WHAT YOU GET:
23 poetry creation tools, delivered one per day (Monday through Friday) to your inbox—in honor of National Poetry month. Use them as you get them, use them when you can, use them over and over to create poems. Each tool zeroes in on one aspect of poetry and provides an innovative method to approach writing a poem. Many
of them are great for creating prose, too. The tools include:
* a purpose, so you’re clear what you will learn
* background information when helpful
* “how-to” directions to create a poem
* an example that illustrates the poetry tool in action
* a short reflection to solidify the concepts covered
* “Hone Your Craft” suggestions for further exploration
* a short reflection to solidify the concepts covered
A PDF document of each tool that you can print or save on your computer
An audio recording of each tool, so you can learn by listening and/or reading
Instruction on the role of audience, reading like a writer, and the process of revision, including a handy Revision Checkpoint Chart—this information can be applied to strengthen your prose as well as poetry
Additional poetry resources
An e-book that contains the information and resources covered, as well as your 23 poetry creation tools for ongoing use
WHERE: From the comfort of your own home, via the web. WHEN: Any time you want! And once you receive all 23 tools, they’re yours to keep, which means that you can keep using them for years to come. COST: $45 TO REGISTER: To pay with a check via mail, email info@wordplaynow.com for instructions. To register for Poetry Rocks online, click here.
Both the year-long TAG, I'M IT!AND three-month TAG, I'M IT! journalsoffer—in no more than five to fifteen minutes—a simple way to recap and celebrate
the very best of each day of your life. The practice of writing out your “T’s” (things you’re thankful for), “A’s” (actions you can acknowledge yourself for), and “G’s” (gifts you’re grateful for) is a transformative one, especially combined with the final step, I’M IT!, in which you intentionally choose three do-able, most-important-to-you actions you’ll take the next day.
The TAG, I'M IT! journal grounds you in two important habits: keeping your focus on appreciating and celebrating the good in your life and intentionally accomplishing what matters most to you. You’ll also create a record of
your most meaningful, happiest events and experiences.
Start your journal—or restart, if needed—whenever you like. (Though a new year is a perfect time!)
An introduction with tips and ideas will help you make this practice your own. Soon, you’ll notice that you’re living your days with more joy, presence, purpose, and intention.
Thank you to Maureen Ryan Griffin for creating TAG I’M IT.
TAG, I’M IT is my new best friend. It’s a guided writing journal that helps me sort through the mental travels of my day. And it helps me zero in on the special moments by reflecting, acknowledging, and saying thank you for the invisible gifts collected in my daily journey.
“TAG” gives me joy. And it gives me a sense of peace. It helps me discover the small and large wonders around me.
“TAG” sits on my nightstand – it’s my last conversation of the day. And I feel satisfied when I turn off the light. When I write in my TAG, I’M IT journal, I’m giving myself a gift.
What a treasure!
~ T. D. Taegel
More WordPlay opportunities coming soon. Stay posted!
Featured Writer
Meet Kelly Bennett
Born just outside Chicago, Kelly Parichy Bennett grew up in a family of five children where sharing was both a necessity and a way of life. She found the giving spirit woven not only through the hand-me-down piles, but also in the way her family shared its joys, fears, stories, and love. To this day, that childhood and the
one she is fostering with her husband for her own three children inspires her subject matter and the way she looks at the world and enjoys writing about it from her home in the countryside of Kent just outside of London.
In the first WordPlay class I took sixteen years ago, Maureen shared one of her ambitions of acting as a "champion of writers.” If memory serves me, she wanted to help people to find ways to master and celebrate, as well as, for the sheer joy of it, play with words. I’ve been fortunate enough to participate in several of her classes over the years and felt my writing life
thrive under her tutelage of rich prompts, shared inspirational writings, and grammatical instruction. All along, most refreshingly for me, the playfulness continues as Maureen expertly and sensitively moderates our classes in person, and now, online, never losing the passion or care for her subject or students. I’m forever grateful for the stroke of serendipity leading our paths to cross all those years ago. Through her books, Word-zine, and courses, she is both a wonderful writing guide
and definite champion for helping us find our way with words.
Featured Writing
Without Words by Kelly Bennett
If you know one thing about me you know how much I love trees; their dignity, their stoicism, the bounty of all they give to us as fuel, as food, as paper, as breathable air! I love Judy’s connection that trees are also a shelter, physically and mentally, for us. I can’t but count my blessings I am surrounded by magnificent trees and can regularly walk in the woods with my dog, Winston. Where
the awesomeness of the ocean humbles me in its vastness and power, the intimacy of the woods is one I find so accessible. A soothing, restoring, hands-on touch with Nature. The Japanese even have a phrase for it, “shinrin yoku” or forest bathing, which connects for me with the feeling of refreshment we can get from a walk in the woods.
I’ve learned other words like "bower" and "dappled" through walks in and amongst the trees. You know how you can learn a word from the dictionary, learn it by sight but to really get to know a word sometimes takes an experience to truly understand it? It took walking to that quiet place emerging in amongst a thicket of brown, grey, mossy trunks to a sacred space amidst the trees, hidden
from the world absorbing the sounds and worries of the outside to properly breathe deeply and purely to realise I’d found myself a “bower”. When I first read Keats’ poem "Endymion" at university in Virginia I had to look up the word to appreciate the poem more. From my strolls around Toys Hill I realise how perfectly Keats choose it.
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
In those bowers and beyond, the woods have their own soundscape. They buffer out the pull of the weight of the world filling it instead with birdcalls, rustles in the underbrush, breezes pulling through the treetops to sound just like the draw of a wave across the shore. Listen and you will hear it too. The squeak of the branches that rub against each other's bark, the drip on the umbrella of a
canopy in a rainstorm. It all feels like a filter where thoughts can be examined, played with, fetched like the stick I throw for Winston. Reminiscing comes easily for me in the woods settled by the pace of my steady walk. I feel I can tap into my resources but never drain them there.
And it’s nice to know I’m not alone. The BBC has made 2020 The Year of The Tree covering stories examining “The Power of Trees” in our world on their nightly PM show. People show the presenter their favourite tree and explain why it is so. I’m in good company, I reckon.
Read the rest of Kelly Bennett's "Without Words" here.
WordPlay Now! Writing Prompt
This is WordPlay—so why not revel in the power and potential of one good word after another? This week, it's“forest.”
PROMPT:
While it's true that sometimes "you can't see the forest for the trees," sometimes it's good to focus on at least a few of the individual trees that make up the forest.
Can you take a walk in a forest, or a small patch of woods? If not, go to a nearby park, or even your own yard. Find a tree to hang out with. Spend at least five minutes taking it in through your senses: look at carefully, as if you've never seen a tree before. Listen to the wind through its leaves, smell it, touch its bark, leaves, branches. Hug it, if you're so inclined. What do you notice that's specific to this tree?
Jot down a list of words and phrases inspired by "your" tree.
Then, find a comfortable place to sit and write for ten minutes, letting these words and phrases lead you to a memory or an idea you'd enjoy writing about.
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.
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!
