On Spending Time
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Hello friends, I've spent the week with friends on the opposite side of the continent from where I live. These are people I've known for decades. It is always good to see them. We challenge and support each other, and together, deepen our work and expand our minds. One thing you may not know about me is that I used to travel. A lot. While I appreciate the gift of the amazing places I've seen while speaking and teaching, and am some grateful for the people I've met... travel was never my thing. And then I burned out. So it takes a lot for me to travel outside my time zone these days. But it is also good for me to do on occasion. It shifts me out of my comfort zone, challenging my status quo. What does that for you? Is it getting up at a different time? Shifting your exercise routine? Getting in touch with someone you haven't seen for a long time? Taking a class? Starting a new and challenging project? Reading something you would not normally read? Visiting a place you've never been, even locally? Standing on your head? This calendar year, I'm engaged in an experiment to reset my inertia toward something that feeds my life more thoroughly and offers a chance to commit to different disciplines. I'm spending time with that, just as I spent time with these old friends. When we commit to making time for something new, we don't know what might happen. And for me? That is the true gift, and the deeper challenge. Because we're all facing the great unknown. We may as well get in some practice. Best wishes - Thorn I had a wonderful conversation with hip hop emcee and educator Davin Thompson, aka Do D.A.T. We discuss freestyle hip hop, spiritual practice, and showing up for life. I hope you enjoy it. You can listen on YouTube or your favorite podcast channel: Magic, Creativity, and Life
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, We’re in the midst of a glorious false spring here in Portland, Oregon. Crocuses are blooming, and plum trees and daffodils are showing small buds. The air is cool and fresh, the sun shines, and yesterday, a small red finch scoped out the front porch of our 108 year old home, seeing if there’s a good spot to nest. Finches nested on our porch a couple of years in a row a few years back. Seeing that finch lifted my heart. Seeking a place to nest is a sign of hope. There is a...
Hello friends, While on a walking break from the writer’s conference I taught at last weekend, I paused to snap a picture of a wall mural. It was advertising something—toasted English Muffins, I believe—and showed a mountain scene, with trees, lake, and sky, and people entertaining each other with song around a campfire. But besides the incongruity of such a beautiful scene marketing a breakfast bread, it was the message that stopped me: “Wake up to what’s possible.” What's Possible mural by...
Hello friends, We had one of our rare snow days here in Portland, Oregon. When snow arrives here, it stays for a week at the most. This week’s storm lasted for all of twenty-four hours. That sort of snow is a pleasure to walk in, and a pleasure to watch from the warmth and comfort of our 108 year old home. Others are not so fortunate, I know. Before the storm hit, our household contributed to a hotel fund for some folks who live on the street. And, as the temperatures reached freezing in the...