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Dear ,
I had an amazing thing happen yesterday. I was walking on the Greenway and saw two friends from my book club, one I know very well, and one newer acquaintance, coming toward me. That's not amazing -- I see friends on the Greenway fairly often. What was amazing is that they had JUST been talking about me because the new acquaintance had told my close friend that she was ready for a new chapter and wanted to find her joy, and maybe she ought to start writing again. And my friend said, "Well, you know, Maureen is offering something in July to help people write their way to joy and I think you'd love it" and then my acquaintance looked up, and there I was, walking toward them. We all got a good laugh out of it my having "appeared out of the mist," and
I don't know which of us is looking forward to her sessions of my workshop "Write Yourself!" more!
These kinds of encounters tend to happen when we are, as WordPlayer Linda Mastro, whom you'll meet below, calls "Living with an Awakened Heart," and one reason to "Write Yourself," whether you do it through WordPlay or on your own, is because writing awakens our hearts.
But awakening your heart is not the only reason you might want to take a class where you come together with kindred writers and write, write, write. Why else? Well, here are seven other reasons:7.
Remember when writing flowed and words were fun?
("Yes" and "no" answers both lead to "You'll love it.")
6. Delicious passages of poetry and prose to savor
5. No rules, just write ;)
4. Great WordPlaymates to write with
3. An energy infusion for your inner writer
2. Connection to the joy of being and growing
1. Easy-peasy lemon-squeezy take-home tools so you can keep your words,
and your joy, flowing
Of course I'd love to have you at at least one session of Write Yourself! this summer. But what matters most to me is that you get in touch with your "why" for writing and then, well, "Write Yourself," whether that means finishing that novel you abandoned but can't forget, journaling about the trip to Kalamazoo you took with your family when you were seven, crafting your son's high school graduation into a poem that captures its bittersweetness, or... well, why will you write yourself, and how?
Read on to see what Linda Mastro has to say about "why."
And remember, as Blaise Pascal
said, " The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing,"
Maureen
Upcoming WordPlay
See attached registration form for more offerings, including more opportunities to "Write Yourself" later in July!
WRITE YOURSELF! (Writing Inspiration; Creating New Writing; Fueling a Current or Languishing Writing Project ; Rekindling Your Writing Passion; Getting Unstuck)
If you have always wanted to write, or used to write, or have just forgotten the joy of engaging in language as a tool of creative growth, join me in this workshop filled with WordPlay. After all, play is the way we learn best -we're free to question, to experiment, to break through to something new, all our own. Surprise yourself! And reconnect with the power our words have to shape our very lives. $30/session
WHEN: Tuesday,
July 2, 7 to 9 pm (and/or July 18, 25, 30 in South Charlotte; see attached registration form for details)
WHERE: Covenant Presbyterian Rec Center, 1000 East Morehead, 28204
Want to come?
Just print out and mail in the attached form or use PayPal or credit card with this link: Write Yourself on July 2
THE GIFT OF MEMOIR: WRITING PERSONAL AND FAMILY STORIES (Writing for and about Your Family / The Art of Memoir)
Our life stories are a precious legacy. Putting them in writing is a gift to all who know and love us-they can be treasured and enjoyed for generations to come. It is also a gift to ourselves. As best-selling author Rachel Naomi Remen says in her book Kitchen Table Wisdom
, facts bring us to knowledge, but stories bring us to wisdom. If you are interested in writing family and/or personal life stories, as well as preserving everyday moments from times past or present, come learn specific tools and techniques to retrieve and record them.WHEN: Thursday,
July 18th and/or August 15th, 10 a.m. to noon
WHERE: Covenant Presbyterian Rec Center, 1000 East Morehead, 28204
Want to come? Just print out and mail in the attached form or use PayPal or credit card with this link:
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Meet WordPlayer Linda Mastro
I remembered what it felt like to play with words. Instead of worrying about how to spin a message, I sprawled and sprinted, pouring out essays and poems about my first grade teacher, my grandfather's meatballs and every car I'd ever owned. With a timer and limitless reserves of praise, Maureen prompted each of us to let spirit and playfulness flow from our pens.
What Linda says about WordPlay
In 1998, after 25 years as a human resources executive
, I retired from corporate America, ready for a slower pace and more white space on my calendar. Maryland's Eastern Shore seemed the perfect place to rest and decide what I would do with the next half of my life. I became a yoga teacher and joined a local writers group. I dabbled with writing poetry and personal essays. I did some freelance writing for friends and colleagues who needed a sharp pen to promote their businesses and events. In 2004, one of my clients, a local health system, hired me full-time as a staff writer. Before I knew what was happening I was promoted to director of communications. I was right back where I said I never wanted to go again -- 10-hour workdays, seven days a week, filled with meetings and endless projects, staff to lead and budgets to wrangle.
In 2011, I used what spare time I had to earn a certificate in wellness coaching. That same year I used one of my precious vacation weeks to go to the John C Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, where I spent a week Spinning Words into Gold with Maureen Ryan Griffin. On the opening night of the workshop, I told Maureen and my fellow writers that my intention for the week was to rediscover the voice within my heart, the one that had been muffled by too many years of speaking on behalf of others. That week I remembered what it felt like to play with words. Instead of worrying about how to spin a message, I sprawled and sprinted, pouring out essays and poems about my first grade teacher, my grandfather's meatballs and every car I'd ever owned. With a timer and limitless reserves of praise, Maureen prompted each of us to let spirit and playfulness flow from our pens. I went home refreshed and pleasantly provoked by Maureen's invitation to keep spinning words just for me.
Less than a year later, I returned to North Carolina to Write Like a Genius with Maureen. This time I came with a question: Do I continue to do work that is rewarding yet draining? Once again, Maureen created an environment in which I was able to relax and play. And, through these days of creative exploration, I got an answer to my question. Back home, I began making plans to make a living as a wellness coach and writer.
I launched On the Way Coaching (www.onthewaycoaching.com
)
in 2012 and began inviting clients to take a pilgrimage into the heart of their lives. I partner with individuals and groups who are ready to create more satisfying and effective relationships at home, in the work place and out in the community. As a private coach, women's retreat leader and team building consultant I use humor, intuition and compassion to create a safe place in which individuals and groups can learn new ways of being, doing and speaking. I also write every day. I contribute feature stories to local magazines and I help entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations promote their business goals. I continue to mine the writing that poured out of me under Maureen's guidance at the John C Campbell Folk School. One of these essays about becoming a grandmother will appear in the fall issue of Delmarva Review (http://www.delmarvareview.com
), a literary magazine that features original short fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and short review.
Linda Mastro is a wellness coach, communications consultant, professional writer, teacher and workshop leader. With Anna Harding, Linda is the author of the book Petite Retreats: Renewing Body, Mind, and Spirit without Leaving Home (
www.petiteretreats.org). Linda is co-leading a retreat for women called Living with an Awakened Heart in Maryland Friday, July 26 to Sunday, July 28, 2013. For more information, visit http://www.onthewaycoaching.com/wp/workshops-and-retreats/schedule
. To learn more about Linda, visit On the Way Coaching (www.onthewaycoaching.com). Also read her blog, Wake Up Call (wakeupcallmastro.wordpress.com) and follow her on Facebook (
www.facebook.com/OnTheWayCoaching?ref=hl).
Featured Writing Why Questions Are Better Than Answers
by Linda Mastro
"Why?" My shoulders tense and my stomach flutters when I hear that one-word question. Why? Because, when someone asks me this question, I feel compelled to know something or to explain myself. "Why?" triggers the fight-or-flight syndrome and I have the urge to defend my position or to deflect a criticism. "Why?" puts people on the spot.
"Why do like wine better than beer?" I just do. "Why do you write?" Because I must. "Why did you paint your house that color?" None of your business.
Is there a way to find out what motivates people, what excites them, what makes them tick without erecting walls of defensiveness? One answer: Be a journalist. Reporters rarely asks "Why?" To get a good story, they look for the who, how, what, where and when. These are curious questions. They probe into the people, methods, purpose, place and time of a situation, an issue or an event. "Why?" probes for a cause or digs for a reason that may be too personal to explain. I admit that "Why?" does get the neurons firing.
"Why you go to church?" or "Why don't you go to church?" "Why are you a Republican?" (or a Democrat, or a Libertarian, or ...) Now those are REALLY none of your business! "Why?" can be a circular question, to which the only answer is another "Why?" "Why did you take a 'working' vacation?" Why not?
"What did you do on vacation? "Who did you meet?" "What did you learn?" "How did you spend your days?" These questions invite me to show and tell. They signal that the questioner wants to learn something about what is important to me.
There is one "why" question I can answer with ease: "Why are questions better than answers?" No matter how they begin, questions are humble. They encourage curiosity and promote interaction. Research in the fields of neuroscience, psychology and coaching show that how we see the world around us affects the questions we ask. I suggest that the questions we ask change how we see the world. The quest for answers -- especially the "right" ones - narrows our focus. When we jump to respond or offer an opinion, we tell others, "I know something you don't know; let me enlighten you..."
Even "Why?" -- when posed with an open mind -- says, "I am interested in you and what you have to say...tell me more, show me what you care about." When in doubt, wonder. Got the urge to offer advice or impress someone with what you know? Take a deep breath then ask a question. Why? Because questions are full of surprise. Go ahead, ask a question. Let yourself be amazed at what you still have left to learn.
~ Linda Mastro
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 "why."
"Go ahead, ask a question," as Linda says. Start with "What question could you ask that can change the way you see the world?" or "What brings me joy?" Explore either/both, and keep writing past what you think you have to say. Then take it a step further. Ask three people this week how they would answer the question(s), then write about what you learned from their answers.
Want to be featured in a future Word-zine?
Send in a piece of your writing that you think could inspire other WordPlayers to write. 500-word limit, please.) You can send something inspired by this writing, or anything else of your choosing. Email your words
to WordPlay here and your piece may be chosen for a future Word-zine.
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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 two collections of poetry, 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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