The Promise of Spring
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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 future. There are plans to make and eggs to lay and hopefully, some chicks to be born. These days, I’m doubling down on hope. Not the pie-in-the-sky variety, but the taking-small-actions type. Social unrest and uncertainty keeps happening, but that doesn’t mean I’m not taking action today for possible good things to come. Maybe you’re in a good place this week, or maybe you’re struggling. Or maybe, like many of us, you are some combination of both. Regardless, today I wonder: What gives you hope this week? What actions are you taking, small or large, to build a nest to cradle better possibilities? I’d love to hear from you. Best wishes - Thorn Need a break? How about joining an intrepid crew of con artists and thieves finding justice for the downtrodden? My Mouse Thief novella ebooks are discounted on my website: ThornCoyleBooks.
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, I was recently interviewed by Jamie Ferguson of Blackbird Press about my new essay collection: Let Your Life Be Lighting - Creativity in Times of Strife. She posed several questions, asking whether I ever feel discouraged, what to say to people who feel like giving up, and how I create during difficult times. In my answer to that last question, I called up inspiration from human history, and I think this might help you, too: “Think of the poems written, songs sung, clothing...
Hello friends, Happy May! May Day was on Friday. I love this holiday, because it rejoices in two things close to my heart: May Day celebrates the burgeoning growth of spring and sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere. People dance around poles with bright ribbons, and leap fires, and share food, laughter, and song. May Day also honors the Haymarket activists and martyrs who fought for worker’s rights, fair pay, and that little thing we call the weekend. May Day honors the human labor that grows...
Hello friends, “One of the keys of fascism is control of the nation’s narrative…” Social philosopher Kimberlé Crenshaw said that in this recent Guardian article. I’ve long admired Crenshaw’s work, and when I read those words this morning, I thought, “this is why I write.” I write to switch the narrative to something that feels healthier, kinder, and more beautiful. Every creative impulse can be anti-fascist. Every creative act can help heal us, body, heart, mind, and soul. Each creative work...