Your Writing Mentor

Mary Knippel

Sharing the message of SA at Ink Spell

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On April 22 I gave my first free talk about the Simple Abundance Close-to-Home Workshops. We had a small intimate gathering at Ink Spell, a sweet little bookstore in my small town. I felt nervous, not about the public speaking I was about to do, but that I would do justice to the message I wanted to share. I wanted my audience to know in their core that they were not only deserving of being on their ever present “to do” list, but they needed to be a top priority – if not their first. The analogy I used of the flight attendant instructing passengers to put their oxygen mask on first before assisting others seemed to have the most impact. It was so obvious that in such a situation, of course, it made sense to put your own mask on first. Otherwise how would you be able to help anyone else? However, applying that principle to our daily lives when there seems to a never-ending list of demands on our time, attention, patience, common sense, good will and creativity is well worth the effort involved. As the commercials tell us, “I’m worth it!”

 

We discussed a few creative ways to put ourselves first without alarming family, friends and our own ingrained sense of duty:

– Journaling is a powerful tool to connect with ourselves, requires minimum supplies and little time, yet writing our thoughts down has significant impact on us emotionally, spiritually and physically. As a journal writer since the age of 11, I am a strong proponent of this practice.

-Being in Nature was another suggestion. From sitting on the grass in our back yard, taking a walk in the neighborhood, enjoying the local park, or exploring a new area of town. We don’t have to postpone our appreciation for the great outdoors until we have a weekend to get away from it all. We can escape with a cup of tea on our front step to contemplate what the day will bring, or what it has brought us.

-Flowers. Taking the time to stop and smell the flowers; whether it means bringing them home from the grocery store, going to a Garden Center, or admiring a flowering bush – close your eyes, breathe in their scent and feel the aroma melt your resistance.

 

Your stress may not be eliminated, but it certainly will have had a pleasant interlude enjoying the flowers, the walk and the writing in your journal. Today, I’m going to stop and smell the flowers on my front step. What will you do to create a little time to put yourself first today?…

Love those Lilacs

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love-those-lilacs.JPGThe waft of lilacs sweet heavy scent has my mind racing back to Spring in Minnesota where bushes the size of small cars suddenly were alive with deep purples and delicate lavender. Ordinary green hedges and tall bushes along the highways and back yards erupted in millions of spray of rapture and gave off an intoxicating aroma.


I love the beauty of the lilacs and all the purples, but my favorite thing about lilacs is that they made me a “star.” Well, maybe star isn’t the correct term. But I was famous and got attention because of a photography contest in my home town. My aunt (BA) loved to take pictures and she used us (my brothers and sisters and me) as her models. Her studio was a bedroom in my Grandmother’s house and for her “sessions” she’d tack up a bed sheet for a backdrop on a convenient wall. Then we were all dressed up in our Sunday best and she’d give directions on how she wanted us to pose for her.


My big break came when we were visiting another beloved aunt and the lilacs were in bloom. BA decided she was going to enter a photography contest at the drug store and decided she knew just how to compose the picture. She dressed me in my pale blue party dress with the scratchy can can slip that made the full skirt stick out, handed me a spray of lilacs to hold, put more blooms in my pony tail and started snapping. I was supposed to smell the flowers, not look at her and not laugh. That was a lot to ask of someone so little. I was 5-years-old and managed a shy smile, or maybe I was trying not to giggle because my uncle was there making faces at me. BA won a roll of film. I don’t remember where exactly I placed, but I know I was a winner.

I am a winner. And that little girl is a winner.

I love that little girl and keep her picture on my desk. She is sweet, innocent and full of possiblity. I am still that little girl. I just have to keep reminding myself. Every year when the lilacs bloom, I go back in time, lose myself in the memory and embrace her. Little Me Me, Meria and Mary. I wish you lots of lilacs and sweet memories of your own…

Change Agent

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I am a Change Agent. Last weekend I attended the Women on Writng Conference at Skyline College. By the way, if you’ve never had the opportunity to attend the conference, mark your calendar for the first Saturday in March 2009 and you’ll be glad you did. They have fantastic speakers as well as giving you access to dozens of talented writers and authors. The break out sessions offer hands-on writing experience for the benefit of not only aspiring writers and also thoughtful discussion for the most sophisticated reader as well. This year’s keynote speaker,  Rachel Naomi Remen used the term  “Change Agent” and I immediately recognized my mission…my passion…to create conditions of discovery thru my workshops. Rachel is the author of wonderful books of magical stories of healing such as Kitchen Table Wisdom. Her words reminded me that as a Creativity Mentor I am also a Collaborator of Dreams. I am in a unique position to collaborate with people by supplying an environment where they may allow themselves to dream. My intention is to offer women a chance to slow down and catch their breath, and yes, even dream a little through Creativity Workshops and the Simple Abundance Workshops. Rachel also said, “we are more than our Physiology and we can heal even though we may not be cured.”  That just gave me goose bumps. It was further confirmation of my message we all can benefit from using Creativity as a Healing Tool. Collage, writing, gardening, painting, cooking, knitting, even stamp collecting – they all contribute to our well-being.  The healing efforts that we make on our own behalf are much more powerful prescriptions than any medicine from a conventional pharmacy. To be honest, we are all Change Agents.I know the title sounds a bit daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. The changes I’m suggesting don’t have to be huge. It can be starting a meditation practice one minute at a time, or stopping to admire a budding tree instead of rushing past from the parking lot into the office. A simple gesture with tremendous impact. What will you choose to be the slight alteration to your norm?…

February's Valentines

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As I was assembling my collection of red papers, gauzy ribbon and heart stamps to make Valentine cards for my husband, daughter and a special Valentine/Anniversary card for my Mother and Step-Father, I thought about all the Valentines I’ve made over the last 50 years. I certainly had more fun putting together the cards this year than I did when we were given a class list in elementary school and told to bring a decorated Valentine Box to hold all the valentines we’d receive at our “party.” My 8-year-old mind imagined all sorts of beautiful cards filling up my box as I trimmed it in red construction paper and yards of lacy ribbon. Some of the Franciscan Nuns could turn a paper Dixie cup of Kool-Aid and a sugar cookie into a fun occasion, but usually these Valentine parties were a half hour of torture while the popular kids counted how many cards they received while I reviewed the half dozen Cinderella, Minnie Mouse, or red construction paper hearts I received from my cousins and girlfriends. I never received a Valentine from a boy until I was dating my husband. I remember vividly our 8th grade Valentine party when I shyly popped Valentines into the boxes of the two most popular boys in the class. Later, I’d hear them bragging that they got cards from every single girl in the class and hadn’t bothered to give any out themselves. I was relieved to know that I was not the only girl who had not gotten cards from them and that next year when we were in high school, there wouldn’t be any public witness to the few cards I did receive.

These days, when I make a card for someone I think about who is going to receive it before I ever pick up a piece of paper, ribbon or glue stick. I enjoy choosing a theme, finding the right stamp and color ink, embellishing it with ribbon or sewing on a button, and writing a personal note. I found an old-fashioned boy and girl in Victorian dress and mounted it on some beautiful hand-made paper for my Mother & Step-Father’s Valentine/Anniversary card. My card for my husband had a pair of cupids curled up in a ribbon spelling out love. I mounted it on shiny red paper with rows of tiny white hearts dancing across. My daughter’s card had an angelic little girl behind a delicate pink veil. My design and my message conveys a personal connection in a way nothing else can. I’m sharing more than a card with a holiday greeting, I’m sharing me! It may seem like a small gesture, but it has a big impact. So, my Valentine efforts have changed over the years and my audience has shifted to a very select few, but they are very special people in my life. That’s my Valentine story–what about you?…

Meria's Marvelous Mischief – February 2008

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My topic today is Meria’s Marvelous Mischief. Julia Cameron in the Artist’s Way describes it an Artist Date. Sarah Ban Brethnaach in Simple Abundance calls it a Creative Excusion. My tag is meant to inspire mild-mannered misbehavior, playfullness and high spirits. No matter what you call it they add up to the same result: time dedicated to the pursuit of nurturing your creativity.
The rules are simple: invest quality time exploring what gives you joy and you must do it alone because you are the only counsel you need to determine your bliss. Both Julia and Sarah suggest two hours every week to celebrate yourself (i.e. find new passtimes or rediscover old ones, take in a movie, have an early breakfast before work at a new cafe, cruise the aisles of an intersting little shop, visit an art supply store or beautiful fabric store, browse in a new/used-book store) wherever spirit calls you. Having something grand to look forward to once a month sounds like a more realistic and wonderful plan for me. As Julia explains it, “in order to create, we draw from our inner well,” but we have to spend time nururing ourselves. She tells us to “fill the well,” meaning we should seek out new experiences and “a little fun can go a long way towrd making your work feel more like play. Do what intrigues you, explore what interests you; think mystery, not mastery.”

I know. I know. How in the world can any sane woman who has the normal responsibilities of home, family and job (even if, and especially if, the job IS the family and home !) hope to run away to spend time seeking her bliss while the boss is waiting for a report, the husband and kids are wiating for dinner and there’s laundry to be done. Also, how does one determine what to do on these outings and how can one have fun by herself? I plan to offer suggestions and chronicle my mischief-making in this blog.

I’m going to make a commitment to a once a month date seejubg my Creative Destiny and I plan to get this whole thing started with an incredibly wonderful first outing. This month I’ve chosen to attend a play. But not just any play. I love theatre. I studied Shakespeare in London and got goosebumps as I stood on the stage at the Stratford-Upon-Avon theatre where so many great performances have taken place. I did a short internship at a Fringe Theatre in London (above a pub, of course!) and had a great time; my duties included running lines with the cast, going to the shops for tea treats and sweeping the steps before the performance. I have been part of Community Theatre, as both cast and crew, and was thrilled with the experience. There’s someting about being in a dark theatre and witnessing a whole other world coming to life before your eyes by the sheer determination and energy of the actors on stage before you. It’s been so long since I’ve gone to a play and reading the Sunday paper I saw that there was going to be a local production by a playwright I truly admire.The New York Times described Wendy Wasserstein as a “chronicler of women’s identity crises.” In other words-she is a writer who not only understands the women she is writing about, she writes so well we believe they are real! I immediately went on line and bought a ticket for the Sunday matinee of Wendy Wasserstin’s THIRD and look forward to seeing how the theme of certainty of uncertainty in life unfolds. I am in awe of her talent and admire all she has accomplished. The wit and humor combined with sensitivity and inelligens as seen in her other plays (The Heidi Chronicles, The Sisters Rosensweig, and Old Money) really captures the life and longings of upscale, highly educated women. I’m so glad that this educated woman has a chance to sit in the dark and drink in the handiwork of such a talented mentor. What will your Marvelous Mischief be?…