The Intentions We Set...
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Hello friends, Since the solstice, I've been starting every morning by lighting candles and stating my intentions. Then I meditate and make a cup of tea. I'm really enjoying this pattern, and am using it to carry me through to the next calendar year. As a matter of fact, I just ordered a Moleskin daily diary as a gift to myself. I plan to write three daily intentions down each morning, plus my writing plans and business tasks for the day as a way to focus both my attention and my intention. I just got the notice that the diary will arrive on December 31st. That's New Years Eve, for those of us on the Gregorian calendar. Perfect. Now, paper planners like the one I snapped a photo of don't work for me, and never have. Yeah, that's one I bought years ago. See how empty it is? Also I haven't kept a journal in decades. But this new, simple, daily diary plan? Something in the idea appeals. Partially because my work causes me to spend so much time on screens, especially now that I read novels on a tablet. The only books I read in print anymore are non-fiction. I crave the tangible of a good pen, a sturdy diary, and smooth paper the way I crave the daily walks that get me out of the little office nook in my home. In my digital-first life, I need a direct connection to the physical. My theory is that our subconscious is best tapped through the physical world. It has a direct line to our animal nature that comprehends things like candle lighting and walks in the rain or snow. So, increasing my engagement with physicality is another of my intentions, New Years Eve rapidly approaching or not. We all need the physical—especially those of us who don't have physically oriented jobs—as our screen time trackers will likely show us. So, as we close out one calendar year and prepare to enter another, are you evaluating your life patterns and intentions? And how will you include your relationship to the physical world? Best wishes - Thorn This is the last week to get Bookshop Witch for free, either direct from me or on your favorite retailer! You can also request it at your library.
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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...