Capulet: But, soft! What day is this? Paris: Monday, my lord.* *Yes, taken out of context… but hard to resist. I hope you’ll forgive me. Today is Shakespeare’s birthday. Or at least it’s celebrated as such. So for the last hours...
#MindfulnessMondays: Today’s poem, “Don’t Listen to Them,” comes from Talib, one of the poets in “The Untold Story of the Real Me: Young Voices from Prison.” I was particularly taken by the following lines: “They say a positive mind is...
Whether it’s making it through this long winter, the political climate, or just the ebbs and flows of the year, we all could use extra resilience, grit and determination. In her reflection in Teaching with Heart on Calvin Coolidge’s “Persistence,” April...
The Untold Story of the Real Me Recently, I created a blog post centered on a poem, “(I’m a Survivor) The Labels of My Life,” by Quenten, one of the young men involved in Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop....
I have to admit that sometimes when I realize it’s time (or past time) to create the week’s #Mindfulness Mondays post, I wonder, what have I’ve gotten myself into? Do I really have the time or energy to post one of...
Last week, Helen Mirren read an excerpt from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Ulysses” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. It is a masterful reading of a powerful and poignant poem. Well worth listening and watching. Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJb_zJbJ7FI “Ulysses”...
Recently, I attended a “Write Night” sponsored by the Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop, a D.C.-based organization.(See below for more information and check them out at: http://www.freemindsbookclub.org.) At a Write Night, people come together to read and respond...
This morning I was running late and so was rushing to get a poem posted for #Mindfulness Mondays. (And yes, I do see the irony in that.) I opened my copy of Poetry of Presence and turned to this week’s...
Sometimes it can be difficult to know how to find the space – in our day, in our mind, in our heart – to be quiet, to be mindful. Last week’s #Mindfulness Mondays poem by Rumi suggested that we join...
When I think of a mindfulness practice or setting, I picture finding a quiet space to escape from the world and take some time to slow down and regroup. So I was surprised how the opening lines from Rumi’s “A...