Walk straight into yes with your Bingo dauber and your seat warmer
What a week! A lifetime in just five days! In Madison, from boas to singing Shabbot to crying while reading "Say Hi to Yaron" in A Room of One’s Own Bookstore to vultures carrying caribou across the center line on Highway 94. And in Minneapolis (or Teeny-Tiny-Apolis, as Mr Brilliant …
Live an open-hearted life
When she walked in the door at the recent Life is a Verb retreat, I knew immediately who she was. Caren writes a blog called Open-Hearted Life and my first impression was that her heart was wide, wide open. She brought all of us heart and light and rhythm at …
How I get things done and what I collect
Two women named Carrie and Danielle are looking at how to live an inspired life, be true to yourself, and make a difference in the world. I was delighted when they connected with me to say they’d been bumping into 37days out in the universe and wanted to explore what …
Desire lines and liminal spaces…and seeing differently
One of the greatest joys of my life is the enormously deep and rich and loving community I have found in writing 37days. From the very beginning, amazing people started coming here and teaching me things, telling me their stories, so much so that the recent Life is a Verb …
Finding the comfort of our own wisdom
Jennifer Louden’s work is not a stranger to many of us. A fan of her work, and the ways in which she leads people to the comfort of their own wisdom, I was humbled by her interest in Life is a Verb and by her kind words: "I adore Patti …
Barriers, bridges, and books
Chapter Four in Life is a Verb is about being generous. Not in terms of money, but in terms of opening the space for others to be who they are, about reaching out to them, about providing them the same level of specificity as you provide yourself. About allowing for …
Name your favorite teacher. Now thank them.
I think teachers are the greatest thing on earth. Truly. I can point to teachers of mine–from Mrs Halliburton in the first grade to Mrs Smith in the fourth, from Mrs Brown in sixth to Mrs Rockett in ninth grade algebra to Ms Sakowski and Mrs Fullwood in high school …
Automotive Acne explores toast rules
The Blog Tour continues today with Allan Smithee at Automotive Acne (Productions) excerpting one of my favorite essays, "Bust your toast rules," along with the beautiful art of Leah Piken Kolidas, one of the 125 pieces of original art in Life is a Verb. My thanks to him for featuring …
Rick made me cry. In a good way.
In the days leading up to my visit on his blog today, Rick Hamrick wrote some beautiful, generous words that made me cry. In a good way. Rick, my deepest thanks. Rick has a wonderful piece of art in LIAV. When he sent it in, he wrote that it didn’t …
Reading to my daughters
I have so loved the book readings I’ve done so far–in Seattle, I was thrilled to see old friends and meet new ones, including artists like Kate Iredale and Megan Lane and David Robinson who contributed beautiful pieces of art for the book and including Patricia Ryan Madson, a woman …
