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NOVEMBER 2017
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
"Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for."
~Zig Ziglar
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A
s many of my readers know, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Not only do we have a lot to be grateful for, but I love it because for the most part it doesn't have materialistic connections. What can be so bad about a holiday that focuses on good food and being surrounded by loved ones?
One way to document or acknowledge our gratitude is by engaging in gratitude journaling. Begin by writing a gratitude list, and then pick one or two topics to describe in more detail. Those who regularly keep gratitude journals choose to write either early in the morning or before retiring for the day. A dear writing colleague of mine kept her gratitude journal on her bedside table, and each night she made a list of five things she was grateful for. This exercise can inspire us to look for positive events during the day. It also helps take the focus off the negative. After a while, this attitude can spill over into everything else you do.
I am very grateful for your readership and giving me your time. Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Gratitude is about feeling love and appreciation for the self and others. As poet Pablo Neruda says, "You can pick all the flowers, but you can't stop the spring." Many of us take our lives for granted and do not express gratitude often enough. In addition to keeping a gratitude journal, it is important to permeate each day with gratitude and marvel at the life we are living. This is one of the many reasons that Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. More often than not, I think gratitude should be a built-in part of our everyday life and journey. Expressing it is like keeping a tuning fork alive and vibrating the joy throughout the universe....
Gratitude encompasses love and appreciation. It is important that we all feel and express and cultivate gratitude in our lives. Gratitude is a key component for living a spiritual life. We never know what circumstances will confront us, but we do know that every day we are presented with the miracles of life. There are many reasons why it is important for you to feel gratitude and express it when you are able. Expressing gratitude is important for your happiness. A sense of appreciation makes other people like you because you will appear to be less self-centered.
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Gratitude prompts from
WRITING FOR BLISS
- List 10 things you're grateful for.
- Choose one thing on your list, and write for ten minutes about that topic.
- Write about how you express gratitude to others.
- Write a thank-you letter to someone who changed your life.
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Recently Published Works
"Two Worlds"
(poem).
Unmasked: Women Write About Sex and Intimacy After Fifty, by Marcia Meier & Kathleen Barry, Eds. October 2017.
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Workshops + Book Signings + Presentations
November 3, 2017
7:00 p.m. (Book Signing)
University Bookstore
Seattle, WA
Event details: Click Here
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November 4 & 5, 2017 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
"The Writer's Notebook" (Workshop)
Hugo House
Seattle, WA
To register:
Click Here
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November 9, 2017
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
"Write. Sip. Create." (Workshop)
Margerum Wine Company
Santa Barbara, CA
To register: Click Here
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November 17, 2017
10:15 a.m. (Presentation)
"Memoir Writing for Healing and Transformation"
Spalding University
Louisville, KY
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December 9, 2017
2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
"Writing for Bliss" (Workshop)
Yoga Soup
Santa Barbara, CA
To register: Click Here
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January 6, 2018
12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
"Writing for Bliss" (Workshop)
Mystic Journey Bookstore
Venice, CA
To register: Click Here
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February 23-25, 2018
"Writing for Bliss" (Workshop)
1440 Multiversity
Scotts Valley, CA
To register:
Click Here
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SUGGESTED READING
Once in a while you pick up a book that is a surprising gem. For me, this was one of those books. Bialosky, an esteemed poet, has collected poems that identified certain pivotal moments in her life. "Being a poet sometimes puts you at the mercy of life, and life is not always merciful," she says (p. 112). In this book, she presents a famous poem, shares the poet's message, and tells what resonated with her. Some of Bialos
ky's stories are very powerful, and many really resonated with me. In her chapter on motherhood, she writes, "Perhaps we turn to poetry because it can fathom and hold the inexplicable, the gasp between words, the emotional hues impossible to capture in everyday speech or conversation" (p.180).
Poetry Will Save Your Life should be read by all poets and lovers of the written word. It's a book to keep on the bedside table, and can be read bit by bit and ingested like a daily vitamin because each page offers so many ideas to reflect upon.
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