The Centennial Edition!

For blog #100, I asked readers to share what writing to heal means to them in 100 words or less. Thank you Lindy, Jerome and Kim. Your words are a gift to all of us! And thank you to every person who has supported this journey, and in that support, who has supported me. 

I coupled the words below with a musical piece, "Weaving" by Connor Chee. I recommend playing his piece while you read the words below.

~~~~~~~~~~

Writing to Heal to me means writing from the soul.  Journaling is

a way to cope,

a way to address sorrow

a way to remember joy

a way to focus on wonderful memories and ongoing love. 

Without journaling, some of these thoughts would stay locked inside and perhaps overlooked, forgotten or even repressed. 

Writing to heal is indeed that; a process the involves healing and growing with new strengths discovered.

~~~~~~~~~~

Writing to Heal means finding whichever artistic medium speaks to us and using it to uncover and understand the truths of the world. If we all took the time to do this in a genuine way geared towards discovery and growth, we could end up healthier and happier as a society. Much of the division around is comes from each person living in their own silo of self-truth and we often forget to truly listen and empathize with the others who have different views.

 

My challenge to myself and all of us… 

Let’s listen to each other in a non-judgmental way.

Let’s accept that diversity of viewpoints is actually an asset and we don’t need to convince everyone to think like we do.  

In this same direction, we can use writing and the various arts as ways to express, share and grow together. 

 ~~~~~~~~~~

Writing to heal provides a moment to reflect on current events without biased judgement, to focus on amazingly strong individuals and their contributions to our society.

Writing to heal is a reminder that humanity can be about love, compassion and respect, or simply the quiet reflection on movement or nature and the lessons we learn from all of this.

Writing to heal reminds me of the good that remains in this world and that I am part of a beautiful larger community.

 ~~~~~~~~~~

writing

2

heal all that ails mind, soul, and spirit.

one pen-stroke at a time

we place words gently upon a paper, a simple act

of love

of resilience

of testifying

“I am”

“We are”

“Beauty is restored”

Life wisdom from the tomato garden

I needed a moment of quiet, and thus found myself in our garden amidst cherry tomato madness.

I picked, ate a few, put a few others into bowls.

I listened to what the tomato garden has to teach us - here is what I heard:

Life is more abundant than we give it credit for.

Life is calmer and quieter than we notice.

Nature is never in a hurry, yet everything is accomplished. (Tomatoes helped me remember this one from Lao Tzu).

Even when you think there is nothing left to harvest, there are always hidden treasures just out of view.

Sweetness from the vine speaks to the soul (in a way that processed foods/sugars do not).

It's not how many you pick, but how fully you appreciate the moments spent picking.

The strong smell of the tomato vine and bites from the mosquitos can distract our gaze from the fruit of life. Maybe they are there to strengthen our resolve...

Even if a few accidentally fall into your mouth, instead of into the bowl you were sent outside to fill, no one needs to know. (Wipe your mouth before going inside)

We meticulously prepare things as rectangular raised beds, but life grows un-deterred around such arbitrary confines. How we respond to this beautiful chaos, not how well we made the raised beds, determines our ability to embrace life’s gifts.

Our raised beds are barely visible amidst tomato madness

Finally, a few bits of wisdom offered by my each of my children, when asked what they think the garden teaches us:

If they don’t come off easily, that means they aren’t ready.

The green ones are sour.

You will never always get the one you most want the first time.

There is always more.