I’m writing this from my annual Writing as a Pathway Through Grief retreat at Commonweal. Commonweal is a large, comfortable retreat center in Bolinas California, butted right up against the cliffs and the Pacific Ocean. It’s a center that focuses on healing gatherings for cancer patients, and the sacredness and energy of those gatherings can …
Much of today was spent writing stories of grief and bearing witness to each other. In the morning, Evelyn talked about the difference between grieving and mourning, a distinction I hadn’t really understood myself. I’ve always considered them synonyms. Grieving is our own private experience of loss, the way we experience it in our own …
Writing as a Pathway: Diving Into The River Of Grief Read More »
It takes 3 hours to drive to Commonweal from my front door. It’s a beautiful drive really and Evelyn and I alternated between talk and silence on the road heading up here. But every time I turn onto Mesa Road, where a huge row of eucalyptus line the road, I go silent. That last mile …
ALL MY BAGS ARE PACKED AND I’M READY TO GO This is what my car looks like all packed up to drive to Commonweal. I’m carrying a case of Writer’s Journey sweatshirts, a Jambox speaker to play music and poetry, a shoe box full of evocative postcard images spanning 40 years to use as writing …
Today is a day to do last minute errands, to put a vacation message on my email and to do the same on my phone. This afternoon, Evelyn and I will have to figure out how to fit our suitcases and all the materials we need to bring to this retreat in my car. I’ll …
Writing as a Pathway: The Calm Before the Retreat Read More »
Over the past two weeks, Evelyn and I have sat and talked through the different phases of our upcoming retreat. We’ve reviewed the three sections of the retreat that I first developed with my friend and colleague Nancy London: Grieving, Uncertainty, and Transformation, the rough stages involved in integrating major life changes. During the first …
Behind the Scenes: Getting Ready for a Writing Retreat: Overplan, Then Let Go Read More »
One of the most important things about creating a powerful, transformative retreat is building a safe environment in which the work of the retreat can unfold. That’s why for an intensive writing retreat—one whose goal is deep writing and internal work—the setting is so important. It’s one of the reasons I love teaching at the …
Behind the Scenes: Getting Ready for a Writing Retreat: Building the Container Read More »
Friday marks the start of my first “Writing as a Pathway Through Grief, Loss, Transition and Change” retreat since before the pandemic. This is a retreat I created with my colleague Nancy London and co-taught with Nancy and David Colin Carr for several years. I was inspired to create it after my mother died in …
Behind the Scenes: Getting Ready for a Writing Retreat: Introducing Writing as a Pathway Read More »
I’m just climbing out of a two-plus-week bout with the flu. I don’t remember ever being so sick, not since I had cancer 12 years ago. I’m am still regaining my strength but was finally back in the swimming pool this morning at 6:00 AM, doing laps, a sure sign that the flu will soon …
I’ve just returned from a 3-week trip to Lebanon and Jordan over the holidays. It was remarkable to be so far away from the US at this time – to visit a culture so completely different than my own – one that has known so much war, upheaval, and struggle. Being away gave me the …
Flying home tomorrow. Savoring every moment of our last day. I will miss the awe-inspiring beauty of this place. And the food. And the Greek people. And the olive oil….and…and…so much! Guess I’ll have to come back to Greece. Blue doors. Ruin. Broken window. Disrepair. Strange stairs. Old doors. Loved this doorway at the church …
Photos from our closing session and final reading. Another Write, Travel, Transform trip has come to a close. Talking about wrapping up the trip and re-entry. Filling out evaluations. Writing till the end. Our final reading as the sun began to set over Santorini. Surya listening Natalie listening Judy reading about Lesbos and the refugees …
Here’s another wonderful response to the prompt, “Since I’ve Come to Greece,” this one from Joyce Bartlett, from Marblehead, Massachusetts: I’ve seen landscapes that look nothing like the place I wake up in most mornings of my life, even the water, the same H2O that I can see from my bedroom window, has been transformed …
Yesterday, in our final writing group, I gave the prompt, “Since I’ve come to Greece,” and I’m going to post several of the responses from my students. They provide a great recap of our two weeks together. This first version is by Marlene Bumgarner, who had the great distinction of being the only person on …
Today was a day I’ve been looking forward to the whole trip. I’d been told we’d be taking a boat from our new (and final) home base in Oia, Santorini, trekking to the caldera of the volcano that transformed this island, and then heading to a natural hot springs that had something to do with …
