Writer Wednesday: Obligations

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by Founding Circle member Tina Holland

One of the things I struggle with and maybe most writers do, is meeting obligations.  Case and point I forgot this one.  It’s been in my schedule and on my Kanban board for over a week and yet last night and 9 pm I assumed I had stuff that could wait until tomorrow and I guess it did.  This post was supposed to be up Wednesday January 12th.  I’m not sure if it will be late or posted another day or maybe next week.

This isn’t an uncommon thing for me to MISS something.   I feel bad when I do and I try diligently not to forget, but SCHTUFF happens.  My stuff this week – I had to finish the last of my self edits and get my manuscript off to my new publisher.   I’m formatting a book for one of my local writing  groups so I was worried about that.  I had a meeting with my critique group on Monday and more and more obligations than I have space on my board.

Maybe I’ve overextended myself, but I don’t think so. I almost always meet my obligations to finish things.   The times I don’t, well it’s probably because of timing, like this past week.  Getting another publisher and a new project out in the world is exciting and my head swims with ideas.   Now that I think about it, most of my book deals take place between December and January so I’m always running around doing stuff, if not physically, then virtually.

I think I just need to make a note to check before I go to bed to make sure that I’ve completed my obligations before my head hits the pillow.

Mental Health Monday: Mindfulness, Compassion and MLK day

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by Guest Contributor, JaeSage

Good Monday to you! Today is MLK Day and when we think of mindfulness and Dr. King, how can we be in the here and now to observe the example of empathy, kindness and active compassion for others and ourselves that he lived and taught?

Here are three possibilities:

  • Look around you. Is someone sitting next to you on the bus during your morning commute or in that bleary-eyed Zoom meeting in your respective virtual offices or the person you woke up next to. Really take a look at that person’s face, look.  Look at their eyes, their nose, the way their mouth moves when they talk. Truly see that person, familiar or a complete stranger. Drink in their presence and enjoy being one with humanity sharing this big blue planet floating precariously through space.
  • When you have a break today, instead of charging through a meal or pouring a cup of beverage that you will end up not drinking due to your laser-like focus on the everyday job of survival, STOP, take a bite or a sip and experience the fullness of the experience. Taste, smell, feel, listen, and look at it. Then think about how that food or beverage arrived in your hand. Who planted, nurtured, harvested, processed, and delivered it so you could be there to slow down and notice it? Can you summon up a feeling of gratitude for those who brought this sustenance to you?
  • Make an attempt to show your gratitude to a fellow human this week. Then show yourself some kindness as well. Part of mindfulness is sharing an act of compassion in the moment with all of your five senses.

Best regards on your mental health Monday today.

Yours in Mindfulness,

JaeSage is the nom de plume of a National Certified Counselor with over 10 years’ experience in learning and teaching mindful methods.

Food For Thought

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by guest contributor, Nicole

I love to eat this warm with a dollop of jam. It’s a perfect cool or cold weather treat.
–Nicole

Rice Pudding

Ingredients

1/2 cup (4oz/115g) starchy rice (Aborio, Calrose, Sushi rice)
2 Cans of Coconut Milk
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 Nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Honey or Maple Syrup to taste (I use about 1/4 cup)

Directions

Into a medium saucepan over low heat add in all of the above ingredients and allow to come to a gentle simmer.
Cook on low for roughly 35-40 minutes or until the rice is tender and the liquid has thickened but not absorbed fully. Stir occasionally.
Remove from the heat while the rice pudding is still quite ‘saucy’ and allow to sit for 20 minutes. During this time the rice will continue to absorb the liquid leaving you with a rich and creamy rice pudding. Add your sweetener to taste.
Serve warm or cold with a dollop of raspberry jam on top.
Once cold, store in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Happy New Year!

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Welcome to the new year, Gardeners! I’m excited for the new year to start. We have a lot of ideas for content and good stuff to put out there, which I think is especially needed in today’s world.

As I write this, we are still snowed in here in our part of the world. We had unseasonably low temperatures coupled with snow that came down to the lowlands west of the Cascades, and we’re just not prepared for it. Between the hills and mountainous terrain and the lack of snow plows and other severe weather gear, the Seattle area really shut down for the most part. Since Omicron is on the rise and it’s not particularly safe or recommended to go out, this worked out.

It’s hard to believe that we’re coming up on the second anniversary of A Good Yarn – Craft Salon & Makerspace, our weekly craft circles. We’ve collectively made our way, literally, through the year, building friendships along the way. These will definitely continue on Saturdays at noon Pacific; drop me a comment below if you’d like to be included. I’ll need a good email for you; if you’d rather not put that in comments, please email me at noony AT acatherinenoon DOT com.

We have a plan for some new posts over the next three months. We won’t be back to our daily frequency, but we are dipping our collective toes in the water once or twice a month. Since it’s more than one of us, you’ll have some good content to read over the next twelve weeks.

And in April, you can look forward to another year of the A to Z Blog Challenge! We’re working on selecting a theme for this year; if you have some ideas or suggestions, drop them in the comments below. We’d love to hear.

Last but not least, if you haven’t joined our FB group, please come on by! You can find it here.

That’s all for now, Gardeners. But remember: make something, write something, create something. It’ll make you feel better.

Cheers!

Twenty Years

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Twenty years is a long time. But I remember where I was, and who was lost; and that those who have been lost weren’t all lost on that fateful day in New York but have fallen in the years since from post-traumatic stress, diseases from dealing with contaminants, and a host of other issues.

Many far more eloquent than me have ruminated on the meaning of today. I do not intend to add to their words, for they can say with more grace what is in my heart. What I do want to honor today is the thread of the makers.

Since the pandemic began in early 2020, we have been meeting weekly on Saturdays at noon Pacific via Zoom to continue the work of makers and craftspersons from before recorded time began. We weave, knit, color, paint, make tea, do dishes, and even sometimes sneak in some work emails – but all in the company of others who create, who know what it is to feel that power within oneself, that power that we lose so often in modern life when beset by the incessant chatter of “social” media. That’s the chimera of it: it’s not “social,” it’s algorithmically controlled for maximum engagement from the consumer: us. To take our attention back, therefore, becomes a radical act.

So today I offer you this: turn away from the world, a go within: to that place inside where you harbor your making. Whether it’s cooking, or craft, or writing, or woodworking – whatever that making is, do some today. And if it’s been long since you have opened the door in your mind where that place dwells, just sit and think about it and consider how you might invite that place back into your daily round.

We are stronger together, and we are more grounded when we make. Hand to hand, and heart to heart.

Namaste.

New Year’s Eve

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Well, we made it. We’re at the end of 2020. I’m not going to make any prognostications for the new year, or frankly even mention the new year. Just tiptoe in and take my place, and move forward. 🙂

But I want each of you to know, you are a piece of my heart. Thank you for helping me to create our little corner of the interwebs, and for making Writer Zen Garden a calm haven amidst the storm.

Here’s to making our boat bigger and more equitable for all of us, each of us. You. And me. And you. And them over there. All of us.

I wish each of us the words to express what is in our hearts and minds, the strength to find within us the resiliency we need to meet the challenges we face, the courage to move forward despite our fears, the wisdom to take rest when we need to. May we each find fellowship and solace in circle with one another. And may you truly, have a very happy and safe New Year.

Namaste.

Self-Care Saturdays – Every Saturday During October, Come Spend Some Time in Makerspace

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The world is on fire and our democracy is under attack, but by G*d we can MAKE something. And making things feeds the soul, which keeps us resilient and helps us develop and nurture the strength we need for the challenges ahead.

Join us each Saturday in October for a two hour block of time in which to relax, create, dream, and share community. Try a new craft or work on an old one. Pick up some mending. Play in your journal. Work on a puzzle. Color in a design. Or just hang out and take in the vibe.

Click here to sign up, and I’ll send you the Zoom meeting details for your date(s) of choice.

Also, vote.

New Workshop Starting June 14th: Finding Water | The Art of Perseverance (free)

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This is your invitation to come back to your center, to find the water at the bottom of the well, to become your own divining rod for your creativity. Join me. Together, we will find a way through.

In March of this year, the Pandemic hit in full force and thus began The Great Pause. Stores closed. Supply chains were disrupted. Toilet paper became a hot commodity along with soap and hand sanitizer. People started gardening in record numbers. Children were homeschooled while parents struggled to work from home or, worse, lost their jobs and had to file for unemployment or make other arrangements.

If you, like me, are heartsick and devastated, know that you are not alone. I am in pain, and yet I know my pain and outrage is nothing compared to what our Black and Brown friends, neighbors, and family members are experiencing: not just today, but all the time.

As I write this, riots and protests are happening across the globe. The murder of George Floyd has sparked off a powder keg. Our communities are traumatized, enraged, and demand justice.

I can’t fix that alone. And it’s not even about me, and it’s not about my outrage. If you feel, as I do, that things must change, there are many good resources and voices of color whom you can listen to, learn from, and support. If you need ideas, please PM me and I’ll share what resources I have. If you have resources to share, please PM me so I can learn and amplify their reach.

But this brings me to you and me. If you are reading this, you are a fellow writer, struggling with your words to find Story and your own Truth. Me too.

On Sunday, June 14, 2020, I will be hosting a free online workshop using Julia Cameron’s third book in the Artist’s Way trilogy as our guide: Finding Water | the Art of Perseverance. I picked this one because the idea of this book is around how to fend off prolonged creative dry spells, or how to come out of one if you’ve fallen into one. Cameron has given her tools away for free with two stipulations: facilitators must do the work with participants, in her words, “No gurus.” And second, we cannot charge for this work.

I’ve facilitated Artist’s Way workshops since 2007 both in person and online. I find the tools deeply resonate with me and have helped me become and stay prolific. Right now, I’ve been struggling with finding that place of creativity, even while I have been outwardly creative: I’ve been journaling like crazy and weaving. But I’m not comfortable within myself, and that’s what I want to change. The collective trauma we were already experiencing with the pandemic (and over 100,000 dead in the U.S. alone; over 371,000 thousand worldwide as of this writing) has been added to by excessive police violence and racism. Let’s be clear here: the racist acts have not changed. What’s changed is they’re being filmed. While this is traumatic for many of us, for our beloved POC neighbors, friends, and family members this is daily lived experience. Yes, we are experiencing a trauma. My hope is, though, that we can come through this as a portal, not fall into it as a hole. With hard work we can emerge stronger, more equitable, more aware, and more creative.

Join me on this journey. The only thing necessary is the willingness to be open, to experience, and to be honest with yourself.

We begin Sunday, 06/14/2020.

Workshop details below:

The workshop will take place on our online forum, located https://writerzengarden.com/forums/

. If you haven’t already done so, please sign up for a free user account. We will be together for 14 weeks. Each week starts on Sunday. We will use a combination of Zoom calls (in person) and written discussion. I will announce the schedule for the Zoom calls when we get closer to the workshop start date.

Introductory Week:  Discuss the basic tools.  Share our goals and hopes, and maybe even a fear or two.  Figure out what we’re about so we can get the most out of the coming weeks.

Week 1:  Uncovering a Sense of Optimism

Week 2:  Uncovering a Sense of Reality

Week 3:  Uncovering a Sense of Support

Week 4:  Uncovering a Sense of Balance

Week 5:  Uncovering a Sense of Autonomy

Week 6:  Uncovering a Sense of Resolve

Week 7:  Uncovering a Sense of Resilience

Week 8:  Uncovering a Sense of Truth

Week 9:  Uncovering a Sense of Perspective

Week 10:  Uncovering a Sense of Safety

Week 11:  Uncovering a Sense of Discipline

Week 12:  Uncovering a Sense of Perseverance

Wrap Up:  Look back and review what we’ve gained.  Look forward and figure out what next steps we want to take.  Honor the work, and play, we’ve done.

Please let me know if you have any questions or issues. My email is noony AT acatherinenoon DOT com.

Z Is For… Zygote!

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Photograph of white flowers.

A zygote is a fertilized egg. Or, a symbol of new beginnings. We are at the end of the A to Z Challenge, but that doesn’t mean the fun stops. We will keep writing.

The world around us has changed, and some of those changes will be long-term if not permanent. Other changes are shorter term, and still deeply impact us. And we, left in the middle, must still find a way to move forward.

Here are five suggestions for doing just that: continuing to be creative in the midst of the Great Pause.

  1. Meditate. You don’t need any special skills or tools, either. Just set a timer for five or ten minutes and focus on your breath. Count your inhale as 1. The next inhale as 2. The next inhale as 3. And so on, up through 10. When you get to 10, start over at 1.
  2. Make yourself a cup of tea or your favorite beverage. Sit down in a comfortable spot, or quiet place, and enjoy drinking it.
  3. Take a long, hot shower or bath. Really do it up. Light some candles, play some music, and let yourself enjoy the process.
  4. Spend some time making something.  If you have a craft that you’ve played with, pick it up and spend a half hour with it. If you haven’t got one yet, take a look on google for easy crafts you can do at home. In fact, here’s a link you can try.
  5. Make some time with a friend or family member for a video chat. Don’t just use voice; there’s a magic that happens when you see people close to you. Google Hangouts, Skype, Facebook Messenger, and Zoom all have free video calls.

What about you? What are some of your favorite tools to keep yourself sane during the Great Pause?

Thank you for joining us for the A to Z Challenge. Keep writing!

Y Is For… YouTube

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Contributed by Tina Holland.

As I write this in my state, ND is expected to lift the quarantine ban on May 1st.   Given everything, I’m doubtful this will be the case.  I guess I will find out the next time our Governor streams on Facebook.

I do know one thing.  YouTube and all the streaming services of Netflix, Amazon, Vudu, Tubi, and a hundred more have made life a bit more bearable giving me something to escape from or learn new things.

I’ve attended a ton of write-ins with The Courtney Project as well as Craft Time in the Time of Corona Virus with Writer Zen Garden.    These have been necessary at times to keep me motivated. Because more people are working from home, and if you are like me you need some people interaction, this has been very helpful in connecting with others.  I know for First Friday Lunch on April 3rd,  I saw double my viewership, a grand total of 8 people, on my April video.

We’ve been able to keep in touch with loved ones across town, and maybe we’ve stayed more connected to those across the world taking advantage of things like Facetime, Hangouts, House Party, Zoom, Skype, and a ton more apps letting us talk to one another.   And while some of you may have noticed your systems getting bogged down because of increased traffic, it is nice to have these options available to us.

Believe it or not, there are some people who do not have access to the internet or paid streaming services.   I can only hope that they have found ways to escape, bond, or create in The Time of COVID-19.   I’m sure in the months to come stories of connection, creation, isolation, and perseverance will emerge painting a picture of this moment and even though we will be connecting face-to-face, I don’t doubt our stories on these services will serve as a record for months (maybe even years) to come.