Oo What a Day

There’s the difference between what one ought to do and what one feels like doing. I saw a really lovely interview with the author emily giffin. Mostly, I’ve never heard of her… I have seen her books in bookstores. In the interview she talked about her journey to getting to write, as well as her own writing process. It was enjoyable to watch. She also talked about how as human beings we don’t always make the best decisions, even if we try. So it all made me want to have a look at some of her books. I haven’t yet, but her interview was inspiring.

I related to when she said it takes discipline to write. Like she mentioned, I also like the feeling of of all when the writing is done… even if it’s just for the day. The hardest part is actually sitting down and writing.

The book The War of Art addresses the resistance that comes with trying to create. It actually a very good book if you are looking for ways to help with your creating. It helps with moving past the blocks that are inherent in trying to create.

I’ll have a look at some of the books of emily giffin. I liked her interview very much. She seemed kind and intelligent, progressive and aware of the challenges that we face in our everyday lives. It was a super interesting interview…

I just did a search and found the interview online. You can watch it here.

the ones who come before us...

thought i'd work on my poetry today.

nikki giovanni inspires... always.

give up to grace.

the ocean takes care of each

wave 'til it gets to shore.

you need more help than you know.

~ rumi

Our real selves are a deep religious mystery...

At the heart of Merton’s spirituality is his distinction between our real and false selves. Our false selves are the identities we cultivate in order to function in society with pride and self-possession; our real selves are a deep religious mystery, known entirely only to God. The world cultivates the false self, ignores the real one, and therein lies the great irony of human existence: the more we make of ourselves, the less we actually exist.

— Robert Inchausti

Paris

Honestly loves, what are we to do in the midst of heart break? There have been the Paris terrorist attacks. And too there is Ferguson and Lebanon, Beirut and Nigeria. There is a friend who buried his mother last week. And another dear friend who lost a good friend to a heart attack...

I saw recently a documentary on the diplomat Richard Holbrooke. Learning of his great and fine efforts toward peace...

We have our work that must get done. Family that reminds us of love and joy, if we are fortunate. Friends, our other family chosen. And love which encourages, relieves and ushers in passion and pleasure...

We have what we love in things: music, art, reading, writing, wine, fine food, walking in the forests, or great cities and cosy friendly villages. There's dancing and good conversation. A cup of tea. A warm bath. The sweet scent of freshly laundered laundry.

In the company of one another and what we love we can breathe...
 

To make bread or love...

To make bread or love, to dig in the earth, to feed an animal or cook for a stranger—these activities require no extensive commentary, no lucid theology. All they require is someone willing to bend, reach, chop, stir. Most of these tasks are so full of pleasure that there is no need to complicate things by calling them holy. And yet these are the same activities that change lives, sometimes all at once and sometimes more slowly, the way dripping water changes stone. In a world where faith is often construed as a way of thinking, bodily practices remind the willing that faith is a way of life."

Barbara Brown Taylor