Condolences

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” – Helen Keller

It was tough on me this weekend taking in the news of all the innocent lives lost. I was glued to my phone all weekend waiting to hear the latest updates. I hope that the families receive all the support they need. Navigating the holidays without a loved one can be challenging and sometimes feels impossible. This is when they will need community support the most, I hope their communities step up to the plate.

When’s the last time you reached out to check in on a friend?

But This Time the Quote is Popova’s

“We slice through the simultaneity by being everything at once: our first names and our last names, our loneliness and our society, our bold ambition and our blind hope, our unrequited and part-requited loves.” -Maria Popova from her book Figuring

I liked the quote so much yesterday that I didn’t realize I forgot to actually share Popova’s work. This is a quote from her book Figuring. She has a variety of thoughts that she shares. She’s even got her own creation, Bird Divinations. Her work is the type that makes you think because she takes a shot at sharing words from some of the greatest throughout history. I often head over to her page when I need a good think or some divine inspiration. She speaks on many universal themes that we all grapple with as humans. Her collection of writings will be valuable for much longer than a lifetime.

Have you checked her out yet?

Thank You

“The dream begins, most of the time, with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you on to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called truth.”– Dan Rather

I try not to say this in class too much, but I am deeply grateful for my college professors. I have had amazing college professors who have literally improved my life in ways I wouldn’t even know how to on my own. I’m a lover of learning, but I’m also a lover of being alive! Growth, humanity, mothering, love—it all lights my fire along with learning. But juggling all the things I love on top of gaining a valuable education, that’s a challenge. They are literally the wind beneath my wings right now.

Ok, that’s it for my overly emotional post showing gratitude to all the professors who have lit the way for me.

Popova on Love

“We feel love leave us in unthreatening ways. We feel it reenter us at once more truly and more strange, like a simple kiss that has a bite of starlight to it.” -Christian Wiman taken from Love and Sacred, Maria Popova’s The Marginalian

I don’t know if you’ve ever read the work of Maria Popova, but I am truly a fan of her work. I always leave with something when I read her posts. This specific quote called to me today, and so I had to share it. I don’t want to talk much about the mystery of love, but I do want to share work from one of the writers I adore most.

Have you read Maria Popova?

Beauty is Now

So many favorite moments await me!

For a moment tonight, I was living in the past. For just one second, I thought I was afraid I would never have this particular favorite moment again. But the truth is being a mom and wife comes with a million favorite moments. Now that I think about it, I don’t write enough of my favorite family moments down. That doesn’t take away from the fact that I’m just so grateful for the place I’m in right now. It’s definitely not how I planned it, but something about things going awry has given me the ability to understand what it means to be human. And being human has taught me to love my present moment and all the beauty right in front of me.

Do you take time to write down your favorite moments?

Do You Feel Through Writing

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” -Anaïs Nin

Feeling through writing is the point. When I first started out as a writer, I wanted to write something that was analyzed in a college classroom. Now that years have passed, I desire less that my writing be analyzed and more that it be felt and inspire. I want my work to be part of someone’s top three books that made them come alive, choose to stay alive, or reach for the stars. Life is meant to be felt, not in a way that we are swayed this way and that, but in a way that we are present in our different environments. Like life, writing requires presence at the bare minimum.

What’s your top three?

A Writing Commitment

“There was a moment when I changed from an amateur to a professional. I assumed the burden of a profession, which is to write even when you don’t want to, don’t much like what you’re writing, and aren’t writing particularly well.” – Agatha Christie

Writing, like any other craft, takes commitment. Everyone has their own idea of what commitment and hard work look like. I prefer the idea of flowing like water, gently striking against small pieces consistently. I mean, that can move mountains. The truth is that writing every night turns your craft into something else entirely. It can be a place to experiment with circumstances, relationships, love, and good old-fashioned writing techniques. There’s a lot that can be learned from writing. The most important thing to learn, though, is more about yourself.

Do you think of writing as something you need to be committed to?

Writing as an Anchor

“If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.” – Margaret Atwood

Writing is the anchor I didn’t know I needed. But now I have it, and I will use it as much as I need. When writing becomes more than just “something to do,” it’s a different lifestyle. I hear you, when you say writing is not better or worse than others who write to write. It’s just different. The need to write is sometimes stronger than the desire, but it’s such a gift when the desire is there. Like anything else, daily habits mean you do them regardless of how you feel. At the same time, I think we can all agree that everything feels better when you want to do it.

Why do you write?

Winter Vibes

“I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape—the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn’t show.” -Andrew Wyeth

Yesterday, it was 9 degrees. I can’t believe it was 9 degrees and I still love winter. This season has really grown on me. I didn’t learn to appreciate winter until I became a writer. The perfect winter morning has graced me with its warmth, and I have welcomed it back ever since. A warm cup of coffee, two blankets, and a view of my backyard.

What would be the perfect winter morning for you?

Already Worthy

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.” — Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou has been on my mind a lot lately. She is a strong reminder for me that our worth is not defined by external factors. You show up to every factor already worthy. The world can sometimes move in a way that makes you doubt yourself, but it’s all an illusion. You’re cut out for this! All those silly little thoughts don’t define you. You have absolutely nothing to prove, and the only person you’re competing with is your past self. Let them doubt you. Let them scoff and shake their heads at you for taking charge of your life. Do it differently! Do it boldly.

One thing I’m beginning to learn as a writer is that we over-edit our lives. We over-edit our writing. We over-edit our outfits, relationships, and feelings. Stop over-editing! Live your life. ‘Cause I’m telling you, the way you write, the way you live and dress and love, it’s fucking art.

So what are you working on?