I put together this PDF for an earlier writing workshop, one hosted by Kimball Library of Randolph, Vermont. I think it helps a writer to have a particular audience in mind, even (and perhaps especially) an audience of one. At least, it helps me. Who are YOU writing for?
“Darling? What’s wrong?”
—Mr. T, over breakfast this morning
I first learned about “broken heart syndrome” from my friend Lynne Cox, who was diagnosed with the condition a few years ago. At the time, she was grieving the losses, in quick succession, of her mother, her father, her dog Cody, and the home where she had lived for most of her life. She was 55.
Lynne is a long-distance swimmer who specializes in cold water. At age 15 she swam the English Channel in record time, faster than any human being had ever done. She has swum in skanky water to protest pollution, shared the waves with sharks and jellyfish and ice floes. She once reunited a baby whale with its mother, with the help of the U.S. Coast Guard, who spotted her as she stayed with the lost baby. She later wrote about that encounter, beautifully, in her book…
If you do not carefully attend to your Mental Health, your Physical Health will suffer. For me, it is a matter of mental discipline. To take each punch, let it wash over me like a wave - and - most importantly, don't cling to that wave. Do not let yourself try to stay in it. Let it go.
You can still bear witness to the disasters all around you. Just don't let them stick to you. Don't let them pull you down into the Undertow...
After yesterday's hand-wringing, I woke up this morning to an email from Bernie, my senator, saying, in essence, "Get over it. We have work to do."
The man is tireless.
"There are a number of Republicans who won by small margins," he wrote, "And, let me tell you, these guys do respond to phone calls and emails. So, if there is a piece of legislation you disagree with, get on the phone and call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-2131."
Bernie went on to outline some of the nasty legislation that will be coming up for a vote, starting with the Republicans' budget resolution. (I've copied and pasted his entire email below.)
So here's my question: Have YOU ever called the Capitol switchboard before? Because I haven't. I guess I just assumed--haha--that the folks we put in charge of preserving our democracy were actually trying to do that.
So I could…
Sara,
Thanks for sending this and for Bernie's reply. I just got an email from Charity Clark, Vermont Attorney General and her ability to block any unconstitutional or illegal executive orders. Her office just opened a BlueSky account @vtattorneygeneral. So we can follow her updates.
We need our voices heard!!!
I normally post this diary to Facebook, but friends have asked me to post it elsewhere, so here goes. (It's also on Substack, in case you hang out there.)
Day 250. Is anybody else feeling a sense of futility right now? Bear with me for a moment. Here is my week in review.
Monday, January 27. My friend S. told me I need to go for a walk every day. She thinks I am agoraphobic. (I am not, but S. has her own opinions about things.) We were drinking tea at the kitchen table in C’s house when S. suggested that I need to get out more. C. invited me to come round on Friday for a French lesson. I said I would, but after I left, I remembered we have lunch guests coming on Friday. So I sent a text to C., explaining. “That’s okay,” she texted back. “S.…
I read this with interest. Especially the part about wanting to put some strong energy into some form of resistance. I come from the history of protest marches. I'm a visual artist and gladly busied myself making signs and puppets with signs of protest. Today, we all instinctively know that nothing used in the past would work towards effective change. Our neighborhood had a meeting today to put our hearts and minds into planting food bearing trees and bushes to create a permaculture of natural foods. We wanted to work together and learn together. It felt small yet right.
Founding Member
Volunteer
Volunteer
This is so refreshing, Sara. Thanks you for doing the research.The same is true for paintings and drawings. It is a way to communicate with "the other". Sometumes "the other" is another version of yourself. In many ways creative endeavors tap into something wiser and timeless; like going for a stimulating walk with your creative brain.