This post shares a few reflective poetry prompts (along with my poetic answers) from recent one-day writing retreats. For context, I’ve been facilitating one-day, online writing retreats for a few years now. I love the retreat space not only for supportive writing community and dedicated writing time, but especially for reflection. Throughout the day, reflection happens through guided meditation, freewriting prompts, and group conversation. To close each retreat, I offer ... Read more ...
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Doing the Holidays Differently: Untangling from the Mythical Norm and Revising Rituals for “the Holiday Season”
Preface: This post took me more than six weeks to write. I started drafting on the winter solstice, so it feels right to publish on the cross-quarter day imbolc. I’ve needed the time to sit with the questions I share in this post—questions that are sure to keep evolving. I hope you’ll come with me on this journey into my spiritual life and desire to do the holidays differently. The Holidays Are Hard. Do They Have to Be? For me and for many of us, the holidays are hard. ... Read more ...
Slowing Down to Clarify Commitments
Earlier this summer, I had covid and slowed to a snail’s pace. Everyday care (like bathing and brushing) took incredible effort. Because I had such little energy, I had to make tough decisions about where to put that energy. In many ways, being sick provided time for review. That review clarified my commitments, helping me consider if where I’m directing energy is truly where I want to be putting it. For the most part, I could answer: yes. I am clear about my deepest ... Read more ...
Reframing Burnout and Recognizing the Collective Experience
Today, I have a new article published in Inside Higher Ed: “Honoring Ourselves and Each Other Through Burnout.” Here’s the opening: In the past few months, nearly all my conversations have focused on burnout. One friend is running on fumes, another wonders how to keep teaching when her body says no and still another rattles off a near-endless list of what’s not getting done. Such stories are nearly endless, too. The recent Inside Higher Ed opinion piece “Academe, Hear ... Read more ...
Interrupting Writer’s Block: Writing (and Pausing) Through Resistance
This blog post responds to a question I received recently and offers some ways to interrupt writing resistance or writer’s block. My hope is that it offers support for writers (because we all face resistance, right?), while also providing a glimpse into one-with-one coaching. I offer this post with gratitude for the writer who shared permission to use the question and response. And I offer many good wishes to writers feeling the pressure of due dates. The Question: ... Read more ...
Commitment Statements: Questions and Answers Pointing Toward Action
Commitment statements are living documents: a way to clarify deep dedications and priorities and to make them actionable both in everyday life and for the long haul. For several years now, I’ve been working with commitment statements as a way to better understand my own commitments and where I’m out of alignment with them—and, importantly, to realign and strive toward justice. This work has grown out of my collaborative research on “Making Commitments to Racial Justice ... Read more ...
Journaling and Drawing Exercises for Times of Transition
Recently, a Patreon subscriber wrote to me with the following question: Could you share a few journaling or drawing exercises to help find focus/calm/mindfulness during a time of big transition and change? I found myself nodding when reading this question, reflecting on how much feels in flux for me as well. As we’re heading into the third year of the pandemic, we continue to live with a lot of unknowns and uncertainty, a lot of change asked of us regularly, and a lot of ... Read more ...
Grief and Gratitude: Reflections on a 3-Year Anniversary
This Saturday (December 13th) was my 3-year anniversary as a Patreon creator, and this week I'm reflecting on how much has happened and changed over these three years. In the midst of this internal review, I am grieving bell hooks, who I know will continue to guide so many of our lives, though I'm experiencing her loss as magnifying the many losses of this year and the last. I recognize again—through emails and text messages and phone calls and blog posts (like this one ... Read more ...
What Is Contemplative Writing? A Definition and Guided Meditation for Writers
What is contemplative writing?What is not contemplative writing?And why do I want to prioritize contemplative writing in my life? While teaching the “Contemplative Writing” workshop series this October, the importance of definitions has become increasingly clear. “Contemplative writing” invokes a range of interpretations, so this blog post defines the term and shares questions for exploring your relationship with writing. From there, I offer a guided meditation for ... Read more ...
Contemplative Writing: Journaling and Other Practices for Reflection, Mindfulness, and Intentionality
This October, I’ll be teaching “Contemplative Writing,” a series of writing workshops offered through the Fayetteville Public Library and sponsored by the Brown Chair in English Literacy at the University of Arkansas. Much gratitude to Professor Eric Darnell Pritchard (the Brown Chair) for initiating and sponsoring this collaboration! As an extension of this workshop series, this blog post launches a series of posts (more will come throughout the month of October) ... Read more ...
