Volume x, Issue 23
November 17, 2021
Dear ,
I am still basking in the joy of spending the past weekend with these lovely people at beautiful Sunset Beach, North Carolina, writing our hearts out.
We wrote a lot, cried a little, and laughed our heads off, especially when my husband, Richard, accidentally "beheaded" us in a photo (see beneath the prompt) and someone suggested I market myself as the Queen of Hearts of writing
teachers—"off with their heads" if they don't meet their writing goals!
Which led me to remember that I once featured words of Lewis Carroll's in a Word-zine. So today, I'm reprinting Volume V, Issue I from January 4, 2016. It's a perfect segue from a weekend on which we talked a great deal
about beliefs, including the fact that, while I was writing Spinning Words into Gold, I realized something I'd never seen before—the little word "lie" is embedded in the word "belief." And I noted that
"some of our beliefs are lies we have been telling ourselves a long time."
We had a great time this past weekend uprooting some of these lies, and replacing them with beliefs that served us, whether they seemed impossible or not. How are your beliefs serving you these days?
Okay—time for some time travel back to
January of 2016, writing prompt and all . . .
What I found most inspiring about da Vinci and Escher was not their artistic talent—though they certainly had this in abundance—but the fact that they were, like Rudyard Kipling's "The Elephant's Child," "full of 'satiable curtiosity." It's been said of da Vinci that "he wouldn't take yes for an answer," and his pages are full of considering, in minute detail whatever captured his
attention. He used his great powers of observation and refused to accept any assumptions or even widespread beliefs in they didn't match his insights. And Escher? Well, Escher reveled in making the impossible look possible! As he put it, "I can't keep from fooling around with our irrefutable certainties. It is, for example, a pleasure knowingly to mix up two and three dimensionalities, flat and spatial, and to make fun of gravity."
How about if, as this beautiful, spacious New Year lies spread in front of us, we take some time to consider what's possible for us and our writing if we are willing to "mix up" the dimensionalities of beliefs and expectations, both our own and others'? After all, as Ralph Hodgson says, "Sometimes things have to be believed in to be seen."
I hope you'll enjoy the two short bits of beloved author Lewis Carroll's play with considering what's possible and impossible that I share below, along with this week's prompt.
Love and Light,
Maureen
TAG, I'M IT! 65th Birthday Celebration Sale
(Because I'm celebrating all month long)
Both the year-long TAG, I'M IT! (on sale for $16.65) AND three-month TAG, I'M IT! (on sale for
$6.50) offer—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, or a birthday, 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.
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How Do I Say Goodbye? and Praying You Goodbye
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.
More WordPlay opportunities here.
WordPlay Featured
Writing
Two excerpts from Chapter 5
of
Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There
by
Lewis Carroll
with fifty illustrations by John Tenniel
(in which Alice converses with the White Queen)
Sir John Tenniel
"Oh, don't go on like that!" cried the poor Queen, wringing her hands in despair. "Consider what a great girl you are. Consider what a long way you've come to-day. Consider what o'clock it is. Consider anything, only don't cry!"
Alice could not help laughing at this, even in the midst of her tears. "Can you keep from crying by considering things?" she asked.
"That's the way it's done," the Queen said with great
decision: "nobody can do two things at once, you know."
*** "I'm just one hundred and one, five months and a day."
"I can't believe that!" said Alice.
"Can't you?" the Queen said in a pitying
tone. "Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes."
Alice laughed. "There's no use trying," she said: "one can't believe impossible things."
"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
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 "belief."
PROMPT:
Like Alice and the White Queen, spend some time reflecting on what you believe is possible for you, your writing, the world, and what you believe is not. Challenge your beliefs, expectations, and knowledge—perhaps, like Carroll, da Vinci, and Escher, through keen
observation, play, and speculation.
You may want to, for at least this week, write down "six impossible beliefs before breakfast." One of mine is "The world is at peace, with all people living in love and abundance, no one left out."
Pretty impossible, yes? And yet, when I am operating out of this belief, I am much more peaceful, which makes the people I encounter more peaceful. And if no one is willing to believe it could happen, how can it ever come to pass?
Here's that photo I promised you, along with an assurance that I have never beheaded anyone!
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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