Grace Notes #19 — October, 2024
Hello from the start of October—and of my favorite season, of golden days and crisp air and apples! How was your summer? And how are you faring as we continue to live through times that are historic by any measure, on all manner of fronts?
First—and I know this is a steady theme of mine, so bear with me—but may I encourage you, if you have been meaning to, but never find time, to steal some time this season for some form of meditation? To take 10–15” to prioritize some practice that soothes and slows things down? With the excruciating events in the world, and the ramp-up to this election, what are you doing to cope? It may be sitting meditation.
My headache with the institutional church aside, these days I am finding my way back to a practice called Centering Prayer, and using YouTube segments of guided meditation with beloved (and departed) Fr. Thomas Keating. But—what works for you, to turn down the inner noise and give your Central Nervous System some breathing room? Is it a bike ride? Is it moving some paint? Is it walking in the woods? Or is it pulling out that journal from under the pile of papers to dash off a page or two?
On this week’s CBS Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley, Coldplay front man Chris Martin described how essential his morning writing practice is. He takes 12 minutes first thing, to just do a “brain dump” of the things on his mind, however petty or mundane, to clear the decks for the rest of the day. Then he rips up or burns the pages.
After an even-busier-than-usual summer (Oh, hello, new hip!), I am working on just such a re-set myself. A fall re-set. Will you join me?
And what a summer it was! So special, such a recharge of love. Here are a few memories featuring our little dearests, and beach times. We overflow with gratitude for these precious weeks together each year.
My longtime women’s group had a month-long show entitled Grief and Gratitude: a group show of art and writing, at the Betty Meyer Gallery of the United Church of Auburndale. The show featured a well-attended evening for writers in the group to read from a variety of works. We’ve had such positive feedback about the show as well as the reading night, that we are exploring other venues to bring it. If an organization in your orbit might be interested, give us a shout!
Make it stand out
Next up, in November I will be participating in a group presentation jointly sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and the Pioneer Valley Coalition for Suicide Prevention, called Sage Stage of Life: Empowering Older Adults through Supportive Conversations. It will be held on November 8th from 1:30–3:30 at The Episcopal Church of St Andrew & St James in Greenfield, MA.
The event is another iteration of a panel we did some months ago at the Hadley, MA Council on Aging that was so positively received that it is being replicated through other DMH catchment areas. As an outreach to make the public more aware of these events, I will be interviewed on WHMP’s Jess Tyler program, at a date we are still finalizing.
And on Saturday, November 16th, I’ll be doing a joint reading with my friend, poet Sara Epstein that will be held at St Anna’s Chapel at St Paul’s Episcopal Church, Newburyport, MA, at 1 pm.
I’ll be reading from Grace Street and Sara will be reading from her poetry collection, Bar of Rest. This is from a review I wrote after reading it
Everything about this poetry collection shines with elegance
It is a work born of change; of the particular grief following the loss of a long marriage as well as the tender moving forward. The collection is lit by an exquisite consciousness that is occupied with integrating memories of childhood—her own and her children’s, a global pandemic, and under and throughout, a great life shift. A rich collection of varied forms, tender and evocative, to be savored over time.
Come for the reading then spend the remainder of the afternoon exploring Newburyport’s abundance of charms—including nearby Plum Island.
And finally, in the Whatcha Reading department, per usual, I am toggling between the profound and a popcorn-book. I’m reading Pema Chodron’s How We Live is How We Die, and Mary McCormick & Melissa Fitzgerald’s What’s Next: A Backstage Pass to The West Wing. Pema Chodron is just such a reliable fountain of plainspoken heart-wisdom, I find myself underlining every third sentence. And, if you are a fan of the West Wing, What’s Next is just a jolly fun, engrossing read!
Sending you October wishes for what Fr. Keating calls “indwelling peace,” and prayers for our country during this election season.
