Week 68, July 26th : Sunday Spark

If you feel called to get some ink on the page, be sure to read the writing practice guidelines (below) before you get your pen moving.

After you read/listen to this week’s poem, Her Rhythm, notice which line most speaks to you. You could also choose a single word from the poem, or begin writing from an image/memory/story that the poem sparks.

Let your body be the decider (as opposed to your mind).

Music Credit: “City of Stars” : Justin Hurwitz & Emma Stone, from the movie “La La Land”

Once you have read the below writing practice guidelines, grab your notebook and your favorite free-flowing pen, set a timer for 10 minutes (or whatever time feels best) and, beginning with the word/line that most resonates from this week’s poem & write write write!

NOTE: The intention is not to stick with whatever prompt you begin writing with, prompts are simply meant to spark your writing…once you begin, follow your pen wherever it wants/needs to go. Get those first words down (before the editor has a chance to sweep in and edit them out).

(As created, with some of my own tweaks, by one of my greatest teachers Natalie Goldberg)

1. First, give yourself permission to write the worst junk in the world (this is the most important one!). Writing practice is very much not about trying to be “good,” it is about opening the door and allowing space for your insides to speak (without any pressure, agenda, or expectations). It is simply saying what is true, what is true, what is true.

2. Keep your hand moving. No stopping to edit (no crossing out, no re-reading, no attention to spelling/grammar). The reason for this fast writing is to outrun the editor who really wants to be in control. Give yourself full permission to lose control!

3. Go for the jugular. If there is energy there, dive straight into it.

4. If you get stuck (or find you are circling some important truth), write the words: WHAT I REALLY WANT TO SAY IS… or THE TRUTH IS…this can’t help but drop you more deeply into your writing.

5. Mostly importantly —Enjoy! Play. Have fun. Make a merry mess.

   * Please feel free to share some of the “recalls” from your own writing. Recalls are simply phrases/lines that feel especially poignant/resonant/goosebumpy/true to you.

She is learning to listen
to this rhythm that is all her own,
to stretch out inside a moment
like old dog in afternoon sun—
to not go too soon
or stay too long.
She is learning to unlearn
what smallness has taught her,
to put her ear to the sound
of her own drumming heart, to let
the low notes be low,
the high notes be high—
to greet each thing as treasure
no matter how clever the disguise.
She will let the trees teach her
when to hold on, when to let go,
how to unfold, stretch out, take up space—
how to dance like falling leaf
inside a too-tight world.
Like moon in her many phases,
like summer settling into
the crisp crunch of fall, she is learning
to breathe it in, breathe it out
to not go too soon
to not stay too long.

The above poem is 1 of 100 poems in my newly released book This Too: Words to Walk You Home.

Click HERE to order a signed copy(s).

My hope is that “This Too” feels like a nest you can rest inside. And also like a spark that grows you warmer, truer, brighter. 🧚‍♂️

This month’s Write Yourself Free class (for paid subscribers of my Substack page) will be on Tuesday, July 28th, from 4:00—6:00 pm (PST).

Write Yourself Free is all about freeing ourselves so that we can write & live from true, rather than writing and living from a place of trying to be “good.”

I so hope to see you there!

I am so enjoying seeing This Too out and about in the world!

If you have a copy & would be willing to share a photo of the book somewhere meaningful to you—in nature, in a buzzing café, in your lovely hands—I’d be delighted to see it!

I will be sharing some of these images here on my Substack page & on other social media platforms.

Mostly, it will just make my heart smile to see my little book in your world.

Below are a few photos that have blessed me! To everyone who has sent these, thank you. Thank you.