Volume IX, Issue 07
February 12, 2020
Dear ,
Change seemed the perfect word for a week that held a baby shower for my goddaughter Shannon, who's expecting her first child on May 23rd. How well I remember when she was a brand new baby!
Change is as inevitable as death and taxes, of course. When I look at this baby shower photo with Shannon's mom, Joan, and our dear friends Shari, and Christine, I can't deny that we don't look like we did
when Joan and I first met in January of 1979, as first year teachers at Monroe Middle School. Neither do Shari and Christine, whom we met a few years later. Since then, we've raised our children together, celebrated birthdays, holidays, and milestones together, laughed and wept together. We've changed in many ways, grown in many ways. Our love for each other has deepened.
This is change, too, this deepening of love and appreciation for each other as we share joys and sorrows.
Yes, at a milestone event like a baby shower for your once-a-baby goddaughter, change shows itself in so many ways: body, heart, mind, and spirit. Today's featured
writing, "This Is How a Human Being Can Change" by the 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic Rumi, describes a kind of deep, spiritual change we
humans can experience that alters the entire scope and meaning of our lives. I've loved it since the first time I read it many years ago, and believe I understand it better now.
How have you, and/or the people and characters you write about, changed over time in each of these four dimensions? Consider this as you read Rumi's poem, translated by Coleman Barks, and, of course, in this week's
prompt.
And if you celebrate Lent, check out the Tag, I'm It! Lenten Journal as an opportunity for change and growth. It's on sale just for you. Details here and below.
Love and light,
Maureen
The "TAG-I'M IT" Lenten Practice
10% off from now until February 29th!
(on sale for $8.99)
Thanks to an invitation from author Kim Love Stump, I created a Lenten journal, available on Amazon now: The TAG, I’M IT! Lenten Practice: An Invitation to Draw Closer to God through Thanksgiving, Acknowledgement, and Gratitude, that offers, in no more than ten to fifteen minutes, a simple way to grow closer to God throughout Lent by noting the grace at work in your life and honoring the blessings and gifts
that you receive each day, as well as acknowledging the actions you’ve taken that bless others and bring more goodness into the world.
This is an adaptation of the regular Tag, I’m It!: A Daily Journal of Thanks-Giving,
Act-Knowledge-ment, and Gratitude (also available on Amazon),with 366 pages formatted especially for this process, each hold a quote to inspire you.
Write Yourself! Workshop
Give yourself the gift of exploring how creative writing (journaling, memoir, poetry, fiction) can enrich your life, and what your writing can provide for others. You’ll learn a number of fun, easy approaches to the writing process. Ideal for beginners and anyone interested in renewing and expanding their writing and their relationship to self, others, and the world.
WHERE: Plaza Midwood Library. 1623 Central Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205
WHEN: Saturday, March 21st from 10:30 a.m. until noon
COST: Free!
TO REGISTER: To register, visit the Plaza Midwood Library registration page here.
More WordPlay opportunities coming soon. Stay posted!
Featured Writing
This Is How A Human Being Can Change
by
Rumi
translated by
Coleman Barks
This is How a Human Being Can Change:
There’s a worm addicted to eating
grape leaves.
Suddenly, he wakes up,
call it grace, whatever, something
wakes him, and he’s no longer
a worm.
He’s the entire vineyard,
and the orchard too,
the fruit, the trunks,
a growing wisdom and joy
that doesn’t need
to devour.
~ Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks
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 “change.”
PROMPT: Make a list of changes that you, or one of your characters, have undergone. Consider the events, circumstances, and people, that contributed to these changes. Do you/your character believe that this change was due to largely interior, self-driven causes, or exterior causes? Was the
Divine, grace, or some other larger influence involved.
Choose one of these changes and write about it.
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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