Greetings!
"Being deeply loved by
someone gives you
strength, while loving
someone gives
you courage."
~ Lao Tau


*****

February is often thought of as the month of love. At least that's how I look at it! What can be better than devoting an entire month to the celebration of love? You can honor anything you want. Your celebration can be about love for another person, a pet, an object, an activity, or a way of being.

A few years back, I wrote an article for PsychologyToday called, "7 Ways to Express Your Love," and my suggestions included: the gift of listening, say please and thank you, tell others you appreciate them, help someone in need, write a love letter or poem, and practice the art of forgiveness. These are timeless suggestions that will still work today. I do believe that there's always a way to express love.

Sometimes we can do something creative as a way to express our love. For example, one of my favorite hobbies is needlepoint. I've made pillows for each of my six grandchildren and it warms my heart to see my pillows on their beds. I hope they feel my love every time they lay down their sweet heads to sleep. I learned how to do needlepoint from my beloved maternal grandmother. She left me four needlepoint chair, and I dedicated this poem to her: "Needlepoint Chair." Have a read!

Happy month of love to you!
dianaraab.com

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  • Write a love letter.
  • Share a story about your first love
  • Discuss your first kiss.
  • Write about a time that you want to revisit.
February 3, 2023
5:30 p.m - 6:30 p.m.

“Writing Love Letters”

388 Bell Street
Los Alamos, CA 93440

For Info: Click here

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February 11, 2023
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Reading and Signing
An Imaginary Affair: Poems Whispered to Neruda

Paradise Found
17 E. Anapamu St.
Santa Barbara, CA

For info click here
*****

February 13, 2023
6:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m.

"Valentine Celebration & Love Poetry with Diana Raab"

Ikat and Pearls
28 S. California Street
Ventura, CA 

“My Quan Yin.” (poem) Young Ravens Literary Review. Issue 17. 2022.

“Needlepoint Chair.” (poem) The Shallot: Journal of Mental Health, Art & Literature. 2022.

“My Mother’s Strainer.” (poem) Caustic Frolic: Chaos Issue. Fall 2022.

 “Peace,” “Sanity,” and “Live in Wonder.” (poems) The Bamboo Hut. January 2023.

“The Gift of Reflection.” (article) The Wisdom Daily. January 3, 2023.

“6 Blissful Ways to Write During the New Year.” (article) Sixty and Me. January 4, 2023.

“5 Ways to Reflect on 2022.” (article) The Good Men Project. January 5, 2023.


"7 Prompts for a New Year.” (article) Medium. January 18, 2023.

"Aphrodite and My Other Goddess Archetypes." Sixty and Me. January 26, 2023.
Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami

I'm usually not a fan of books by writers who write volumes about their process; however, Murakami's voice in Novelist as a Vocation is different. Murakami not only writes about his own journey, but he also addresses what inspires all creatives, including writers, artists, and musicians.

When he writes, Murakami says that he begins with an internal image of what he actually wants to write, and the rest happens organically. "No detailed planing was involved—only after I had arrived did it hit me, 'So that's how I got here!'" (p. 66). He also writes about how he wants his audience to feel when reading his books: "I want to open a window to their souls and let the rest air in. This is what I think of, and hope for, as I write—purely and simply." (p.70).

It's such a pleasure to read about the joy Murakami receives during his writing process and how he's as excited about writing today as he was back when he wrote his very first novel. He calls the process of discovery blissful, and what an honor it is to hear him express it in this way!

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