Volume VIII, Issue 37
September 18, 2019
Dear ,
Happy Almost Fall! The autumn equinox is right around the corner, which means we are entering the last quarter of what once was a new year. It seems like a good time to focus on the gifts that each day, even the most difficult one, brings us.
And, if you're like me, September, with its "new school year" vibe, feels like the time to begin new projects and new habits.
To that end, the two short pieces of writing I'm featuring this week are about the importance and value of each and every day. For, while many of us writers are up to creating works of art—essays, stories, poems, novels, etc.—one of the best benefits writing gives us, in my opinion, is the way that it can help us to live
more fully. And maybe even bring us to "write upon our hearts," as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "that every day is the best day."
Years ago, one of my writing students, Trilby Carriker, told me that one of the things she most loves about writing is the way it inspires her to slow down and live in the moment. I gave her class a simple, yet profound assignment one week—to listen each day for at least one moment worth capturing, and then put that moment
into writing. It was an exercise in finding subject matter, I told them. Our lives give us wonderful material for writing projects all the time, if we are paying attention. The exercise, of course, is also one in mindfulness, and excellent practice in transubstantiating experiences into words.
The results were lovely. I still remember them, from Sue Schneider’s watching her daughter transformed into grace and beauty as she trotted her horse around the ring to Jennice Hatcher’s appreciation for the bank teller who greeted her weekly with a warm smile to Trilby’s own poem about a cat that strolled into her yard for a
visit. Trilby loved this exercise so much that she kept on doing it, which is something I always hope will happen.
Fast forward thirteen years: that simple exercise morphed into an evening practice I call "TAG, I'M IT" that offers, in only five to fifteen minutes a day, a simple way to experience a substantively greater sense of
contentment—and fulfillment. 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.
I decided to make myself a journal that perfectly fit this process and, because I am such a huge fan of inspirational quotes, I put one of those on each day's page. Several people in my life loved the practice, too, so I made the journal available for purchase.
Would you like to try it, and see what benefit it could add to this last season of 2019?
If so, as a gift to you as a loyal Word-zine reader (and anyone you may to share it with), I've taken 20% off the regular price of $9.99 from now through September 30th, so that the cost is only $7.99.
Here's what one reader who, by the way, I don't know, said about the TAG, I'M IT Daily Practice:
5.0 out of
5 stars A Great Tool for Self Reflection
July 31, 2019
What I enjoy about this book/journal is how easy it is to use. It brings to our attention the importance of being in gratitude but, more than that, it helps us to acknowledge and mark our progress, encouraging us to be kind to ourselves, rather than critical. Similar to keeping a journal, but easier, it helps us to recount the "little" day-to-day happenings that are true gifts designed
to remind us of our true purpose for being here.
This review, which I read for the first time yesterday when I went to Amazon to pull the link to share with you, was a wonderful surprise and made it into my own TAG, I'm It journal last night.
Whatever practice (or lack thereof) you may have to live your days fully, I wish you a fall season full of goodness and gratitude, and I hope you are inspired by this week's short featured writings, as well as the prompt.
I'm grateful to have you as a reader, and for the good you do in the world, in and out of your writing.
Love and light,
Maureen
Upcoming WordPlay
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.
More WordPlay opportunities coming soon. Stay posted!
“Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some
rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.”
~ Mary Jean Irion in Yes, World: a Mosaic of Meditation
Write it on your heart
that every day is the best day in the year.
He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day
who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.
Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in.
Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day;
begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit
to be cumbered with your old nonsense.
This new day is too dear,
with its hopes and invitations,
to waste a moment on the yesterdays.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson in Collected Poems and Translations
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 "day."
PROMPT: Today, listen for at least one moment worth capturing. Put that moment into writing. Flesh it out on the page so vividly that if you read your words years later, they will bring the whole experience flooding back.
You may want to take this practice on for a week, or even longer. If you like the idea of keeping a gratitude and/or synchronicity journal, begin doing that.
Or pull out the stops and try the three-month TAG, I'M IT Daily Practice.
It's fun to play with prompts in community with fellow writers, and to be able to share the results when you're done. You can find out about WordPlay classes, workshops, and retreats here.
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!
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