**Connecting Through Stories**

Tags

#ColoradoSprings, Books, encouragement, story, writers

I started a small, virtual storytime a few weeks ago for some friends’ kids. The idea literally got me out of bed when I was recovering from some kind of virus. I’d been sick for about a week, and was reeling emotionally along with the rest of the world from the spread of the pandemic. The creative possibility was a tonic. To do something for others but also for me. To connect.

It’s been wonderful, and a joy.

The first book I thought of reading together was, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (which I’m holding above :).

Written after Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, its author and illustrator Bill Joyce’s home state, it was partly inspired by his experience seeing the transporting and healing power of books in the lives of kids living on cots in New Orleans stadiums after the flooding.

Its themes of the importance of every individual’s story and the power of sharing those stories seemed perfect for the times we are in. Plus it’s tremendously imaginative and beautifully illustrated.

In the process of looking for a link to give parents for the accompanying Academy Award-winning short film, I found Bill Joyce’s Instagram post titled, “Stories Matter More Than Ever” urging folks to contact him to ~

“Use this time as a treasure chest of our imaginations. … use its limitations to create something vibrant and powerful. Make it bring us closer together. Contact me on this platform. Let’s tell some stories together and maybe create some new ones…”

Bill has been meeting, reading, and talking with educators and other creators across the country and the world during this last few weeks as his way of battling the separation between us and connecting for hope.

He’s coming to Colorado Springs as our guest next week by the power of technology. Please join me in welcoming him and to support local non-profit Foster Together in their own work of connecting, support and encouragement. We’ll plan to post a recorded interview later!

#storiesmatter #kidlit #connectwithstories #kidsmatter

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Fairy Illustrations

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antique books, characters, girl characters

This gallery contains 5 photos.

I came across this antique book by Johnny Gruelle at a friend’s “time-capsule” cabin here in the Colorado mountains. It …

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What We Value

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encouragement, inspiration, kindness, the art of living

This was really good. It relates to the college admissions cheating scandal, but also to what we as a society teach and believe is important.

Celebrity status, money, fame and external success – all these folks thought it would make them happy. When they got those things, they found otherwise.

In some ways, finding internal #happiness might not be an easy road, but it’s truly waiting out there (and in) for us, simple as a hug.

 

 

Ordinary, Everyday Life & Art … Matchbooks

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everyday art

This gallery contains 4 photos.

People used to really spend time designing custom #matchbooks. Love the detail on these. One with an Irish theme and …

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Heroic Girls of Literature: Tris (Divergent)

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girl characters

When I read Divergent in 2013, my main thought over and over was,

“WHERE HAS THIS CHARACTER BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!”

The physically-active, FEMALE, athletic, scared-but-brave character of Tris was a revelation.

As a woman, as a female, without knowing it I’d longed for so many years, for a physically and mentally strong woman, who was still somewhat of an introvert. Really for forever I’d wanted that.

Although I enjoyed Nancy Drew — she was very active with her clean and sporty convertible — she was also super well-groomed, all the time.

Tris was a mess.

It was tremendously refreshing.

I wasn’t a three-sport athlete in school like my sister, but I rode my bike constantly in the summers, climbed a tall blue spruce up to my two-board treehouse to read library books, and still like to try and get outside and move often.

Exercise doesn’t really figure in to a lot of girl characters.

–> Okay. Just figured out this is YA. Young woman instead of girl.

It still counts.

Long live flawed, real heroines.

Veronica Roth

#gowomen

#gogirls

#strongfemalecharacters

Park Time / Nature Time

Tags

filling the well, nature

There’s something about staring at green, green grass; hearing fluttering cottonwood leaves; sitting under a magnificent blue summer sky, complete with its ever-changing free cloud show; watching insects flit, hover and buzz … that settles my soul.

In the past few weeks I’ve been on an accidental, informal tour of several of our local parks. I’ve glugged down, sipped and relished the end of a beautiful summer here in Colorado.

It’s been warm but cool in the shade. I toted around a canvas folding chair and books, trying to slow down and breathe.

Nature met me more than halfway in that respirational endeavor. It offered the calm, steady embrace of minutely growing things.

It displayed its intricate ecosystems. Miraculously year after year, trees grow from seeds … flowers from buds … and a certainty in me grows — of something great and good. Something bigger than me. Reassuring.

It’s like a loving mother’s arms, the embrace of the earth.

#natureprescription

#outdoorsmakesmehappy

#healing

Can You Say: Kindness Matters? Dinner from Neighbors

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encouragement, kindness, the art of living, Work

One day I happened to mention in a text to our neighbors that I wasn’t feeling well.

I was down for the count with a head cold.

The next thing I knew she was on our porch with homemade chicken soup accompanied by fresh cut pieces of baguette and a bowl of strawberries. All delivered by her wonderful self, in a handy canvas German market tote (she’s from Germany).

The kindness received was just as much of sustenance as the nourishing food.

We all know that when our body’s sick, our mind can also be pitiful.

A kind word or action (or both!) can shore up someone’s spirit like nothing else.

Kindness holds that kind of power. The sort that can turn around a person’s day –  whether there are sniffles and a headache in it or not.

Recently, we watched their house while they were out of town, picked up the newpapers … when they got back the most deliciously sweet, gorgeous deep-red rose showed up on our porch in a clear glass bud vase.

Her again.

What kind of magical sprite of niceness is this?

 

#kindness

#kindnessmatters

Friendship Is Revolution

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Friendship, White Rose Movement

I’m continuing to read Sophie Scholl & The White Rose and yes, as I mentioned I might, I do have another blog post about it.

About halfway through reading I’ve discovered something.

The friendship between these people was part of their resistance.

The bonds between them, the respect and affection as it grew, effected them greatly for good.

They met, they argued, they shared lives. They discussed ideas, what was happening in their country, the countries around them, with Nazism.

This resulted in revolutionary behavior.

In a way friendship itself is revolutionary. It’s violently against hate. It’s FOR the bonds between people.

A friend loves you right along with your foibles, because of your strengths, but also — simply as your person, as who you are, as a unique human being.

You share with each other … stories, jokes, time together and … simply enjoy one another.

But the richness between you, is what?

It’s love – it’s affection, camaraderie, respect, fun.

Friends make us more of a person, more of a developed person. We call each other out on stuff, we help each other figure out life, we share experiences.

Just having someone else experience who YOU ARE. Is a gift. And I’m realizing, also a powerful strengthening agent.

 

 

The Power of Art

Tags

#ColoradoSprings, Books, story, writers

Photos by Daniel Rogers | Greece

“We’ve marginalized art [in our society].” George Saunders said during his visit to Colorado Springs. Yes, we have.

After Saunders talked about the vagaries of the writing life, including editing down a sentence until it eventually disappears; and shared some about his own journey creating with words and finding himself as a writer, he talked about the “assigned” topic (by the Converge Lecture Series) of “moral beauty.”

This concept is meant to (and rather successfully does, after it sinks in and one is able absorb it) encapsulate the responsibility we have as people to create. To make our world better. To build, instead of destroy.

We’ve overlooked the power of art, and misunderstood the value of it. This has resulted in dire consequences. Because of discarding the unifying, clarifying and constructive functions of art, we’ve achieved a level of rage and antagonism among one another that is unprecedented.

We malign and see as unimportant and without value, artistic pursuits. This is evidenced by the question we are repeatedly asked when people hear of our son’s college major: “What do you do with an English Literature degree?”

Have you heard of books? Have you heard of something called critical thinking? Without these tools for a civil society, we spiral into a vortex of materialism, chaos and yes, rage. But with these pages — pages full of thoughts, observations, poetry, stories – these pages, created with intense and prolonged effort; created with a mysterious yielding to the “luminous other;” that Saunders talked about; created with a humility and a respect for readers that prohibits condescension – WITH THESE tools and weapons in our armory, we can battle apathy, hatred and the black hole of selfishness.

We need to get to a place where we realize the value of artistic professions, not seeing them as “just” hobbies (though artistic hobbies are valuable too) or relegating them to the margins. When we see and value them as work, as important work — equally as important as, say, plumber, teacher, construction worker — then we can generate more beauty with words, with paint, with clay, with cameras and even in micro conversations with each other.

This beauty will heal us.

The Mystique of Libraries {for some of us}

Tags

Books, favorite things

What is it about stacks and shelves of books that is so compelling?

Open the cover…

And who knows what you might find?

The possibility of story…

In this case, I went in search of a library containing books I wouldn’t want to read. This particular library was full of law books. I write fiction. But still. The library itself and its design drew me. I’d seen pictures of shelves full of colorful spines, decorative metal stairs spiraling to the books, huge, tall windows — in this fascinating building.

So with my laptop in my hand and the welcome of a public library in my heart, I set off.

“Library” in German is “Bibliothek.” Remember that. You’ll need to know it later.

It was hard to find the right entrance. I walked all around the building. When I finally went in I was faced with this. No map or listing of offices in sight.

So I went back out and found a glassed in booth next to a doorway under an archway, that looked like it might be information. In English I asked about the library and … nothing. The man didn’t speak English. This is where the one word I’d read in a brochure came in. When I said, “Bibliothek bitte?” The man nodded and wrote a room number down on a post-it note and gave it to me. That was all the direction I got. I said danke.

This library is kind of famous. But it turns out, not that easy to find.

After some weaving around in the warren of hallways, going up and down some unnecessary but interesting stairs and a couple of false moves in a tiny elevator I finally found the right floor and opened a small wooden door that appeared to be the right room number. Still not much signage outside.

And I entered a small office. Two desks, some ordinary bookshelves. That was it.

The woman in there spoke SOME English, and was also very nice. She explained to me that I had to leave my purse and bag in a locker and then said something about how to use the law books; and I had to pretend I was interested in those. What can I say? I didn’t mean to mislead but I was determined to get in there. Turns out the library was through a door in her office.

I saw this view while stashing my bags; and after getting change from her for a 2 Euro coin because the lockers only took 1 Euro coins.

Finally I went in! It was quiet … and small … and I felt like a poseur and an imposter … but still I was determined. And also I craved some quiet in the middle of our travel, and some time to work on a few things.

When I opened my laptop this large photo was on the screen. Kind of embarrassing. Our dog sitter back home had sent updates and those were the last thing I’d been looking at. (Go Rover.com!)

So after I got comfortable and minimized the doggie photo, I enjoyed it. I spent some time working and that felt good. Then sunlight came streaming in the windows and I snuck a picture. Gorgeous, no?

 I heard these bells going off while sitting there.

This was the view out the window.

The mystique of a library is in the possibility. The imagining. What stories might exist within the pages? What knowledge? What action of the mind and heart might happen, upon reading the words?

#libraries #reading #books #bookmagic