July came in with a poem from Grateful Living. A poem I know and love. One I’ve carried in my pocket often for Poem in your Pocket Day. It’s likely one that you know as well, Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye. In my notebook I wrote a riff on the line “You must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.”
You Must Know
Sorrow buries itself in the marrow of your bones, zaps your energy so all you can do is stop, rest, breathe slow and steady.
Then you emerge, shedding a former skin to feel Love as the deepest thing, how sorrow lights on a fence post to show you what is true. All a part of you.
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
Thirty days of writing every day. Has it all been good? When my students ask me that question, I try to find something specific to say. “Look at this imagery you included. I can see a picture in my mind.”
Yesterday, my new little first grader was writing a poem to This Photo. He kept wanting to use words like pretty and nice, and I pushed him to specific description. “Why is it pretty? What is nice about it?”
What is good? The Lord looked at all creation and called it “Good.” Why?
Today my Enneathought begged the question “What is good?”
EnneaThought® for the Day
Type Four EnneaThought®
Today, see if you can do the opposite of your ordinary personality pattern. Acknowledge the many ways in which your life and relationships are good. See what happens.
The Enneagram Institute
Here’s my draft-list of good relationships:
Forty years figuring it out every day with my life partner.
Three daughters who welcome me into their lives.
Stella yells, “I see Mamere!” on FaceTime.
Friends texting photos of spring flowers.
My principal has my back when a parent complains.
My brother is caring for our mother every day.
Charlie, my 15 year-old dog, still licks my toes.
A. wants a hug at the end of every day.
My mother-in-law is a wise advisor.
My writing groups fill me with inspiration as they challenge me to be better.
What is your list of good relationships? How do we recognize and nurture what is already good in our lives?
A thank you note I made for the leader of last weekend’s Women’s Retreat.
Margaret Simon lives on the Bayou Teche in New Iberia, Louisiana. She teaches gifted elementary students, writes poetry and children's books. Welcome to a space of peace, poetry, and personal reflection. Walk in kindness.
Reflections on the Teche 