December marks time like no other month.
Tomorrow the winter solstice brings us the shortest day of the year followed by the longest night ... and days later, the end of one year and the beginning of another. I’m thinking about how I can add light to my days and mark new beginnings. Not just new beginnings on the calendar, or the light from longer days, but the light and change that comes from doing things differently, seeing things in new light, and being curious. Last week we had a snow storm ... a big one. Most of us got anywhere from 18 - 24 inches. And as it so often happens, the next day it was glorious. Sunny and bright and fresh. After the storm, we took a ride ... uptown to State Street, left at Longfellow Square ... and there it was. A rainbow. Shimmering in the windblown snow hanging in the air. This week's calendar ... Thursday is Egg Nog Day. Are you a fan? You'll also see that today is Poet Laureate Day. Because the statue in the rainbow photograph is poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, I want to share a post I did a while ago on blackout poetry. Follow this link to read more about Longfellow and blackout poetry, and give it a try. Use it to create a poem. Stick it to the refrigerator or mail it to someone. It may add new light to your day. After all, you could be a poet and don't even know it. Even if you don't want to try the exercise, click through to read Longfellow's poem, Holidays anyway. It's fitting for this holiday season ... one that is so very different from so many others. Read it and let me know what you think. And if you create a poem, share it with me. I'd love to read it. p.s. There's also a link in the post to Robert Frost's poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. You can read the poem and find out why it's one of my favorites.
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Don't miss this special event:
Sunday, December 13th at 2:00 EST Letters Live celebrates the beauty and wonder of letters in a moving and altogether new way ... live readings. From their website: "Letters Live has brought to the stage letters written by people as varied as David Bowie, Marge Simpson, Mohandas Gandhi, Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin ... and has seen the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliet Stevenson, Ian McKellen, Kylie Minogue, Russell Brand ... and Sir Ben Kingsley deliver unique and extraordinary performances." --------------- On Sunday, December 13th, they are offering two one-hour screenings of previous performances. I'm planning to watch (and listen), will you? When I met two friends at the arboretum for a walk and a bite to eat, we decided to keep it simple ... each of us was to bring our own lunch.
We walked along the trails and through the fields, past the larch and the lilacs, to a clearing where we discovered a picnic table. We pulled lunch from our bags, and one by one described what we'd brought ... each offering to share what we had. When we started eating, I realized not only did I forget a napkin, one of my friends had upped her game and brought a cloth napkin. I realized in that moment if I had packed lunch for all of us I would have taken more time to consider things like napkins, and maybe a tea towel for the center of the table. But because I was packing just for myself, I rushed the process. It was a sharp reminder that what we might do for others, we should consider doing for ourselves. The first edition of Tinplate No.1, the summer edition is coming soon. It's an activity book ... and yes, picnics are included, along with a checklist(!) of what to pack. The activity book is my way of reminding myself, and you, to do more of what we enjoy this summer. To take the time between the things we have to do for the things we want to do ... and make the most of it. I think you'll like it. |
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