Tag Archives: creative writing
December 26 – Seva (Service)
How did you serve in 2011? Do you plan to volunteer in 2012? a In addition to teaching 8th grade English, I am the Community Service Coordinator at my school in Guatemala. In this role, I have been fortunate to connect with some amazing nonprofit work going on in this country at organizations including Long Way [...]
December 25 – Milagro (Wonder)
Illustrate your own personal wonderland — real or imagined. What’s the weather like? Who else is there with you? Use vivid detail. a “We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.” ~ Charles Kingsley
December 24 – Regalo (Gift)
What was the most cherished gift you received this year? What were the most thoughtful gifts you gave? a For it is in giving that we receive. ~Saint Francis of Assisi
December 23 – Karma (Action)
Actions speak louder than words. What daily actions will you take this year? How will you begin your January mornings? a We have so many choices in how we wake up. Meditation in stillness or in movement? Coffee or tea? Breakfast or not? Music or silence? a I, for one, will be having a licuado [...]
December 22 – Sukkha (Happiness)
Where did you encounter sweetness in 2011? Was there sweetness In the warm embrace of a trusted friend? In an unexpected home cooked meal after a long day of work? In the park at sunset? On the yoga mat? At the beach? Within the confines of your own bedroom? All of the above, I hope.
December 21 – Dukkha (Misery)
What was the low point of your year? How did you heal and move forward? a The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it. ~ Carl Jung
December 20 – Tapas (Heat)
What stoked your creative fire this year? What did your discipline enable you to achieve and/or create? Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience. ~George Washington
December 19 – Drishti (Seeing)
What is your vision for your spiritual practice in 2012? How do you see yourself achieving it? a As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
December 18 – Amistad (Friendship)
Describe your best friend(s) from elementary school, high school, college, and/or the present. x a A man’s growth is seen in the successive choirs of his friends. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
December 17 – Bhakti (Devotion)
What did you devote yourself to in 2011? How will you devote your energy in the coming year? a I devoted myself to teaching (school and yoga). To writing (essays and articles). To practice (of yoga, of meditation, of writing, of breathing…). I will continue to devote my energy to all of these things in [...]
December 16 – Viaje (Trip)
Where did you travel this year? What was your best trip? x Near… far… or wherever you roamed from home, how was your journey spent in 2011? What new places did you explore? What familiar favorites did you haunt? x I started the year in New York City (3:00 a.m. Coney Island / 5:00 a.m. [...]
December 14 – Jnana (Self-knowledge)
Name something you did that was completely out of character. How did it feel? Gracias to Yoga As Muse Facilitator and writer Dawn Curtis for offering this #reverb11 prompt. Reverb is a month-long endeavor in reflecting on the past year and envisioning the year to come. Find out more about Reverb11. Check out the daily prompts and feel [...]
December 13 – Sabio (Wisdom)
What lesson or piece of wisdom did you learn from a child this year? Did it surprise you?o Special thanks to Dawn Curtis for providing today’s question! I am lucky to love my career. As a teacher, I have the opportunity to witness the wisdom* of children every day of the school year. I currently [...]
December 12 – Libro (Book)
What book did you read in 2011 that was most inspirational? Why? a For me personally, three books rocked my interior world this year: The Places that Scare You by Pema Chodron, The First and Last Freedom by J. Krishnamurti and Cutting through Spiritual Materialism by Chogyam Trungpa. Each volume had to be savored slowly [...]
December 11 – Gracias (Thanks)
Appreciation and acknowledgement are corner stones to building trust and deepening relationships. Write a thank you note or poem to someone who impacted your life in 2011. x Special thanks to my fellow YAM tribe member, Heidi Johnson, for offering today’s prompt. Here’s my poem in response: x Dearest one Thank you for accepting me [...]
December 10 – Ananda (Joy)
A positive frame of mind is a habit. How have you silenced the propaganda factory of negativity with positive thought and behavior in your life in 2011? How has this changed your day-to-day being? o “Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.” ~Franklin D. Roosevelt v Heidi Johnson provided [...]
reverb11 prompts
December 31 – Fiesta (Celebration) What are you celebrating today? What will you celebrate in 2012? December 30 – Karuna (Compassion) What compassionate actions do you aspire to in the coming twelve months? December 29 – Poesía (Poetry) Write a poem. It doesn’t have to rhyme. December 28 – Agradecimiento (Gratitude) What eleven things were [...]
Step in the Bright Direction
My 9th grade creative writing students and I began a unit on social justice in February by watching Manos de Madre, a documentary about single mothers who sift through trash at the Guatemala City dump collecting recyclable materials to sell. The students worked in small groups to develop campaigns on serious issues facing Guatemala, including [...]
lessons tried
December 17 – Lesson Learned. What was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year? And how will you apply that lesson going forward? I learned that reality is always in flux. I learned how to witness my emotions without always getting entangled in them. I learned that the power of my imagination [...]
creative writing tips
The blank page is daunting until the moment you sit down and write. Begin with or without an end in mind. Just begin. Writing is one continuous, tangential discourse with your self. Use luscious vocabulary without being histrionic or pedantic. Harvest delicious sentences and cultivate bountiful paragraphs. In the act of quality writing, you have [...]
