"This work is unlike any other, in its range of rich, conjuring imagery and its dexterity, its smart voice. Carroll-Hackett doesn’t spare us—but doesn’t save us—she draws a blueprint of power and class with her unflinching pivot: matter-of-fact and tender." —Jan Beatty
“It’s hard to wake up sometimes and look back at your life with clear eyes, isn’t it? All the Hello’s and Goodbye’s, and all the things said and left unsaid, whether they were timely, or easy, or uncomfortable or boltfree, or jarring, or just plain true, at least for you, in the moment of their saying.And once you’re awake you have to listen to the now, or ignore it and pretend that it’s just not there. Tricky stuff for the strongest of us, and hard travelin’ for the tender hearted. Like pilgrims on some dusty trail, the long line of true believers stretches into nothingness, and the shadows of the don’t fit in’s move along like so much smoke, pungent and ethereal, lingering toward home.”~John Little Bear Eaton
I was raised Catholic, and in cultures that are very comfortable with the dead.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.
Amen.
Make art celebrating the dead. Or write a prayer for the dead.
6/22/2016
Hold on, to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along
Just know you’re not alone
‘Cause I’m going to make this place your home
Settle down, it’ll all be clear
Don’t pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found
Just know you’re not alone
‘Cause I’m going to make this place your home
~written by Greg Holden and Drew Pearson, performed by Phillip Phillips
So I never imagined myself doing crowdfunding, but the chance of attending this retreat means more to me than I can even begin to say. The work toward Peace and Justice and Love these amazing women do have inspired me daily for more than a decade. So endless gratitude to those who have shared or given. Your support means more than I can ever say ❤
And We’re almost there! You guys are amazing! So kind and so generous! ❤Thank you sooo much!
So much of the Thirteen Grandmothers’ work is about healing, but healing is work that we all can do, in every moment, in every interaction we have with each other, and no action is too small. When you hold the door for your sister or brother, when you smile at a child or a dog or a flower, when you forgive another, or yourself, even in those fleeting passing pleasantries you exchange in the coffee aisle at the grocery store, in those small kindnesses, healing power is present. And we need that healing power–your healing power–even more now than ever.
“You are the embodiment of the Grace and the Spirit and the Wisdom of the Ages. You are the Light of the World.”
I have a special affection for deer, for many reasons. I sit out on my little stoop and they slip like shadows from the woods, all velvet eyes and dancer feet, and they let me enjoy their company, their beauty, as they browse and graze through the section of the yard I leave wild just for them, what my kids call ‘Deer Diner.’ I planted them a persimmon tree there in that corner a couple of years ago, and I leave them three cups of corn daily 🙂 paying my rent for sharing this little wooded four acres that their kind occupied long before my house was built. I love them more than I can articulate. Their presence brings me into a place of peace like no other animal. I think they understand this 🙂
Make art about deer. Or about what in nature brings you peace.
You’ll have to check their guidelines for reading periods and submission specs. This is just a list, for a conversation we so desperately need to have, and have, and have again.
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