That Sneaky, Sneaky Nap

In honor of Plant a Kiss Day ** (Sunday, April 29) I decided that instead of doing what was suggested – which was to spread a little love in the world – doing generous deeds like some of my incredible friends came up with – giving away bundles of lavender, setting up free lemonade stands and creating flash mob bubble parties in the park… Yes, instead of creating an act of kindness for others, I decided to take some advice from my very smart friend, Sherry Richert Belul (creator of Plant a Kiss Day), and plant a big fat kiss on myself, because if anyone needed some love it was me. Actually what I needed was a nap – which is pretty unheard of in my world. I’m terrified of them, certain if I give into my fatigue I’ll never get up. For 100 years I’ve been a steam engine, stopping only once a day – to collapse – in bed. But since I hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep the night before, I thought, well, I’ll just sit on the couch with this newspaper and catch up on some important reading. Important being the operative word here. I read a page or two about a doctor who was so consumed with being the top dog in his field that he made up research to support his thesis. Now he’s nothing. Minutes later I face planted on my couch where I dreamed of making love to a cowboy. No wonder I’ve been resisting those naps – they’re sneaky, insidious, only increasing your desire for even more rest. The next...

Hungry For The Sound of My Own Music

A couple of weeks ago, David Bowie put out a new record, which is a big deal in the music industry. The man is 66-years-old, a legend, a huge rock star. I’d heard an interview with a member of his band a few days before the record launched, and the interviewer asked, “What earlier record is this new one like?” I found myself hoping he’d say The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust or Hunky Dory – two of my favorite Bowie records from the 70’s. But this band member only said that it was the best record Bowie had ever made. So when the album came out on iTunes this week, I checked it out, hoping to hear songs that would take me back to 1976 and tanning by the pool in Palm Springs with my friend Marcie. Those were some days. I was 16 years old, had long brown hair, and wore bikinis. Boys liked me and I loved music; a doorway into a rich place full of feelings that I couldn’t yet articulate, but which I knew promised me access to a deeper part of myself. But when I listened to this new album, I didn’t hear anything resembling the Bowie I had loved. Instead I heard the crooning stuff he’s been putting out in the last few years – not my cup of tea. Here’s the thing: I don’t know what Bowie was thinking when he put out the record, but his band mate told the interviewer that Bowie makes the kind of music that’s coming through him. I didn’t get the Bowie album I...

Finding Me Some Outgoing Guts and Imagination

“Everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” Sylvia Plath Wow. You go Sylvia Plath. And here I was all set to write a piece on how I was struggling to find an authentic voice in my blog. That might surprise people who know me. I teach folks how to find their authentic voice on paper – so if anyone should have one packed and ready to roll out for a weekly blog it would be me. Not so. When I’m with my Wild Writing students four days a week I write really honest, messy stories about my relationships, sexuality, addiction, aging, all the things I long for and struggle with. I show up naked and full of those unseemly thigh dimples. I think that’s why I have so many writers who come back and work with me year after year; I put myself on the line and model the kind of authentic writing that Wild Writing is all about. And when I forget how to do it, my students take the lead. Together we create a world where imagination and guts is golden, the thing we reach for. But the blog isn’t a room full of women who I’ve been writing with for months. I have no idea who is reading this, but moreover, I’ve been confused about what to share. My website and my more public persona is that of a writing teacher, but that’s just a slice of who I am. How do I find that middle...