Tell me about an ordinary object—pedestrian or dear to you—that you used in your pre-pandemic life that is out of circulation now. Tell me about that object and your relationship to it—and show us through your piece how you feel about it being shelved. You can share your response to this prompt below. ... [Continue Reading]

What’s in your heart that needs to be said? Go for what’s tender. Imagine sitting in a window in New York City, unable to leave your apartment, with nowhere to go. Tell us what this utter disruption of your plans and your life really feels like. How it’s really impacting you. Tell the real truth here, today. The story under the story. Show us the underbelly. You can share your response to this prompt below. ... [Continue Reading]

In this time of pandemic, what have you learned you can live without? You can share your response to this prompt below. ... [Continue Reading]

In this time of pandemic, what do you miss the most? You can share your response to this prompt below. ... [Continue Reading]

Francis Weller often quotes an African proverb, “When death comes, may it find you alive.” What is making you feel most alive right now? What choices can you make to increase your sense of vitality and aliveness? You can share your response to this prompt below. ... [Continue Reading]

My wings are clipped. I used to fly free and far. I would get into my Subaru and tool around town, go to the gym, to the beach, to Macy’s. Or I would go down to L.A. to see my mom, do some organizing for her, spend precious time. Sometimes I would fly down 101, stop in San Luis Obispo to have dinner with Mila, drink wine, spend the night in her cabaña after a hot tub. Other times I would flit down Highway One, stop at Nepenthe and shop at the gift store that has Boticelli virgins painted on the bathroom stalls. I would have a bowl of soup at the restaurant, watch the ocean and marvel at how crows seem to be taking over the world. Before my wings were cut, I would fly Norwegian Air to London, visit my friends in Lincolnshire. I would fill myself with warm beer and lamb ... [Continue Reading]

“As one door closes, another opens. But we often look so long and regretfully at the closed door that we fail to see the one that has opened for us.” –Alexander Graham Bell

“Go as the Way Opens.” –Quaker proverb

We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. --Pema Chodron

• A passion born of everything falling apart
• My own powerlessness and my own power side by side
• Lack of resolution lays over all of us like a heavy fog
• The lighter I get, the less I thrash at this moment.
• A growing fierceness in my mouth
• I’m trying to resist the urge to stitch it back together with my own shaking hands
• I’ve never been very ... [Continue Reading]

“Life is a joyful participation in a world of sorrows.” --Pico Iyer.

As you experience this pandemic, what are you standing on the edge of? Start with the words, “I’m standing on the edge of…” Make that a repeating line. Begin every paragraph or stanza with those words, “I’m standing on the edge of….” You can share your response to this prompt below. ... [Continue Reading]