Step Forward!

From deep within,

a seed of thought develops. 

It nestles into a corner;

Finds space to grow;

Releases some energy.

Sprouts!

Last night at the #TeachWrite chat, we were talking about what inspires us to write. I replied, "Some days I wonder what to write about or where the inspiration will come from." All day, I continued to ponder this so tonight while chatting with my #DareToBe friends about confidence, I was inspired by their conversation to jump in and write my thoughts. I responded to the first question with a digital inspiration (see above). Ideas flowed and out popped a poem.  It was the break from academic writing that allowed me to go back to the thoughts that have been churning inside since last night. It is interesting how a word, image, or occurrence can generate new ideas and the energy to write creatively. 

Confidence allowed me to step forward and transform a possibility into a reality. 

What will you do tomorrow to take a leap of faith?

I plan on believing, trusting, and relying on my one word, hope, to guide me.

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Today is Slice of Life Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers.

I am delighted that I could take a few minutes to write down the thoughts that have been fermenting all day. 

HOME

Home is where our story begins, grows, and is preserved. At this time of the year, when thanksgiving brings families together, my eyes scan this place I call home. Thoughts flood my mind.

HOME

I know it well! 

A feeling of comfort 

fills this house I live in. Sounds and smells

bring back memories of autumn past. I recollect sweet moments
of family life. They flash before me: pumpkin-spiced days filled with faith and hope that blessed my home and insulated us from life's
cold snaps. Fall still lingers in corners of my home. I
uncover worn photos and artifacts tucked away-
reminders that one thought prevails:
home is more than just a house.
©CVarsalona, 2017, Long Island

What is home? 
It's my gathering place,
my collection space, 
brimming with remembrances.
It is the sweet abode
waiting for a new joy to arrive 
- a grandbaby -
so inter-generational love
can thrive again.
©CVarsalona, 2017, Long Island

🦃

As Thanksgiving approaches, I am in the midst of decorating my home inside and outside. I look forward to creating new memories honoring the spirit of family togetherness, for home is the place where my family's hearts will be filled with new life-living moments.

For me, the word HOME ignites a spirit of family togetherness! 

What does it signify to you?

Today is Poetry Friday and Jama Rattigan, the hostess with the mostess is serving coffee, donuts, and poetry for the Poetry Friday Roundup here.

I am also joining the #TeachWrite community this month to write about HOME.

On Writing

For me, writing is a messy, a circuitous journey of woven words!
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After a night of professional conversation with connected educators, my mind is racing. #TeachWrite, #WonderChat, and #TWTBlog thoughtfully stacked their questions while I sat glued to TweetDeck on my computer. Within a virtual space of connected talk, I sat writing thoughts across my screen. Around me lay the visible artifacts of learning-papers strewn across my desk, scraps of thoughts, start-up ideas, and crumpled notes waiting to be organized-piles upon piles of paper, notebooks, and professional texts congregating in a crowded space.

How can Ideas germinate and take root in this arena of disarray?

You might question how writing can be an outgrowth of my creative messiness. Let my image poem below take you into my creative world of digital space and perhaps provide an answer.

Just like this space, I call my office, is undergoing construction, my writing is too. As I wait for the contractor to arrive this week, I also wait for ideas to evolve and move from a state of clutter and disarray to a finished product, an outgrowth of a meandering, wonder-filled process of creation.

A quote by Frederick Douglas surfaced during one of the connected conversations tonight. "If there is no struggle, there is no progress." I immediately copied this into my notebook and pondered the words.

Various rooms in my house are waiting for make-overs. So, too, my writing journey is filled with drafted thoughts and redos. My house needs refreshed spaces of living and my writing needs space to breathe, to circulate, and find its landing pad. While there may be tension and missteps along the way, the productive struggle leads to new growth and a "will do" feeling that the journey is the right path.

I add these thoughts to Two Writing Teachers' Slice of Life Tuesday tonight and look forward to reading my colleagues' slices.

Percolating Idea-Why I Write

Have you heard the phrase learning is messy?

How about changing that to writing is messy?

In three days, NCTE will celebrate the National Day On Writing. Based on a conversation with Laura Robb, I have been writing daily as part of my practice. What is writing? Is it a paper full of scribbled thoughts waiting to find a home? Is it my cluttered mind urging me to release my thoughts?

Despite the clutter that surrounds me, writing is my escape. It is where I dig deep, think on a different level, find a sweet spot to mine, and then excavate to uncover a golden idea. Are there bumps along the way, missteps? Of course! BUT for me, as a lifelong learner, writing is where I discover myself.

When did writing become a passion?
I started writing in a simple, marble notebook as a child. A chapter book emerged based on a favorite novel, The Bobbsey Twins. Little did I know in those childhood days that I was using mentor text as a model for my own writing. As I grew older, scattered thoughts were written in my diaries and scrapbooks. Continued writing led to high school literacy magazine submissions and the Mademoiselle Magazine contest winner. College life brought me closer to a dream: a Master's degree in creative writing. But as journeys go, life had another path. Even without that degree, writing has always been a part of my journey.

When I moved from an unconnected state to the connected world of social media, writing became my platform for change. Now, in my "unretirement years", writing surfaces in the form of blogging, poetry, and the creation of global galleries of artistic expressions.

Where do I write?
I have a sanctuary for writing, a guest room with a Victorian table desk but I seem to gravitate to my office where I am writing now. There are cluttered papers strewn across this desk, scraps of thoughts, start up ideas, and crumpled notes waiting for me to organize. A few piles have turned into little mounds begging for hands to thin them out. Despite the clutter, ideas surface and percolate. Sometimes, these ideas turn into the start of poem or a blog post. Sometimes, they start as wonderings but never brew. Other times, ideas just lay in piles. Creative messiness works for me now but I still want to find the bottom of my desk.

Why do I write?
Ideas need space to breathe, to circulate, and find a landing pad. I write to release them. Understanding that voice matters, I hope to spread the joy of positivity, professional and personal wonder, and the power of written word in a connected world. I write to meet this goal but sometimes, I spend hours trying to make a thought pop, or flow in the right direction. When that doesn't happen, tension builds and a pause button is needed to free my mind so I can go back to a writing state of mind.

My simple hack to release tension when writing does not gel:
I step away from writing when word weaving and flow are not happening. I recall one day deciding that it was time to step away from my writing world so I went to a restorative yoga class. Sitting in the stillness with all lights out allowed me time to pause, declutter my mind in a minimalist space, and be drawn into the moment. Being one with self was an awakening, a self-care step that reduced anxiety and decluttered my mind. With that fresh perspective, the trip back to the writing desk was filled with hope.

Step Back
Reflect When Writing Appears to be a Desert
Engage in Another Creative Activity
Feel Refreshed
Step Forward Into a Writerly Life

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Final Thoughts:
Last night, the house was quiet. I sat at my desk writing a draft of this post. My thoughts of childhood brought back memories when journal writing was the start of something, a pathway. I tucked those memories and scraps of ideas into a virtual pile to be sorted in the morning. With a feeling of hope, I fell asleep thinking that writing is a great antidote for the ills of life.

While each time I write I don't anticipate an "aha" moment, I do expect being in the zone, the place where passion meets creation. I recognize that writing is a messy process and the journey long. Knowing there is a sliver of an idea that might be the start of something promising, keeps the flame of writing burning strong for me.

Tonight, I return to my writing because word weaving is my passion and revision a step closer to making the following quote from the Greek philosopher, Epictetus a reality.

If you wish to be a writer, write.
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I am offering this post to three writing communities:

Two Writing Teachers for Slice of Life Tuesday
#TeachWrite for their monthly theme, Why I Write
National Day On Writing at the NCTE site