Laura Davis

  • Home
  • About
    • Books
  • Online Classes
  • Prompts
    • Writer’s Journey Roadmap
  • Writing Retreats
  • Blog
    • Laura’s Blog
    • The Virtual Vacation
    • Featured Students
  • Contact
  • My Account

Sign up to hear from Laura today and receive the Writer's Journey Roadmap.
Free writing prompts and inspiration sent to your inbox every week.

Helpful Resources in a Time of Uncertainty #88

November 20, 2020 By Laura Davis No Comments - Read & Respond

I’d like to greet you today with a terrific poem sent to me by Nancy Grace. I just loved it. Read it out loud to get the full impact. It feels great on the tongue!

A Charm Against the Language of Politics
–Veronica Patterson

Say over and over the names of things,
the clean nouns: weeping birch, bloodstone, tanager,
Banshee damask rose. Read field guides, atlases,
gravestones.

At the store, bless each apple by kind:
McIntosh, Winesap, Delicious, Jonathan.
Enunciate the vegetables and herbs: okra, calendula.

Go deeper into the terms of some small landscape:
spiders, for example. Then, after a speech on
compromising the environment for technology,
recite the tough, silky structure of webs:

tropical stick, ladder web, mesh web, filmy dome, funnel,
trap door. When you have compared the candidates’ slippery
platforms, chant the spiders: comb footed, round headed,
garden cross, feather legged, ogre faced, black widow.

Remember that most short verbs are ethical: hatch, grow,
spin, trap, eat. Dig deep, pronounce clearly, pull the words
in over your head. Hole up
for the duration.

Coronavirus & the Pandemic Response

Doctors Begin to Crack Covid’s Mysterious Long-Term Effects

A new study explores long term, persistent symptoms of Covid-19, even in patients who began with “mild” cases.

Click here to access this resource.

Why Europe Is Flattening the Curve (and the U.S. Isn’t) – The Daily

Much of Europe went back into lockdown late last month to try to stop the spread of the virus and ease the strain on hospitals.

After weeks of warnings that cases were again on the rise, a third surge of coronavirus infection has firmly taken hold in the United States. As cases grow, the pandemic is becoming so widespread in the United States that every American will know someone who has been infected.

As it became clear that Europe was heading into another deadly wave of the coronavirus, most of the continent returned to lockdown. European leaders pushed largely similar messages, asking citizens to take measures to protect one another again, and governments offered broad financial support. Weeks later, the effort seems to be working and infection rates are slowing.

In several parts of the United States, it’s a different story. In the Midwest, which is experiencing an explosion of cases similar to that seen earlier in Europe, leaders have not yet managed to come up with a coherent approach to loosen the virus’s grip. Is it too late for the New World to learn from the Old?

Guests: Matina Stevis-Gridneff, who covers the European Union for The New York Times, and Mitch Smith, a national correspondent for The Times based in the Midwest.

Listen on Apple Podcasts:

Click here to access this resource.

Racial Justice & Educational Resources

Isabel Wilkerson with Lynn Nottage

In following up on my recommendation of the book, Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson, here’s a great interview between Isabel Wilkerson and Lynn Nottage. Really moving and informative. Thanks to the heads up from Diane Barnes.

Election and Politics

A Debrief on the Election Through a Social Justice Lens: From the Folks at Speakout

Voter suppression. Voter intimidation. Mailboxes vanishing. Drop boxes appearing. And politicians up and down the ballot amplifying fear as a populace ponders worse-case scenarios – no doubt fueled by the anxiety of living in a Covid-19 world.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the election—but what does it all mean in terms of social justice and how can we hold their feet to fire regarding their promises to have the backs of the people of color who played such a large roll in getting out the vote and putting them in office?

SpeakOut hosted a great panel with three brilliant changemakers who analyzed this year’s critical presidential election through a racial and social justice lens. I was able to participate in their excellent roundtable last week, and now you can, too: hear from Dr. Melina Abdullah, acclaimed professor and frontline leader of Black Lives Matter, Helen Zia, award-winning journalist and scholar, and Tim Wise, one of the country’s leading anti-racism educators and authors. The panelists sifted through the noise and distractions to explain what happened in the election and why, how to keep your eyes on what’s at stake, and more importantly, the ways we can continue to transform society no matter who occupies the White House. Highly recommended.

Click here to access this resource.

Writing Related

The Gathering of the Creatives Online 2020 – Insight Events USA

An INTERACTIVE online event – December 4-6, 2020

Led by Julia Cameron, SARK, Jacob Nordby, Flora Bowley and other creative teachers, this weekend event is all about exercising your creativity, and understanding how a regular creative practice can foster happiness and transformation in your life.

We believe that being creative is one of the forgotten keys to a happy and fulfilling life, and the experiential workshops at this event are designed to help you awaken and heal the connection to your inner artist!

Unlike some online offerings, this is NOT a lecture only event.

You will be able to paint, write, learn, make art, and interact with both the teachers and other participants in real time.

Click here to access this resource.

How Writers Can Make the Most of a Pandemic Winter

Terrific post by Sweta Srivastava Vikram on how writers can make the best use of a pandemic winter. From the folks at Brevity.

Click here to access this resource.

Self Care

Listen to this Tara Brach episode – Our Refuge of Heartspace (2020-11-04)

How can we cultivate a heart that is prepared for anything? That is the question answered in this beautiful, inspiring talk by meditation teacher Tara Brach. I love the way she waves social justice, compassion, the need to take action and the need for self-care.

Here’s what it’s about:

Amidst the great emotional reactivity of our times, this talk looks at: How do we hold this? What will allow us to respond wisely to our hurting world? How can we widen the circles of compassion? Our time includes a guided meditation, sharing of responses to several inquiries and a period of question/response.

Click here to access this resource.

Filed Under: Blog, Resources

« Previous Post: Helpful Resources in a Time of Uncertainty #87
Next Post: Helpful Resources in a Time of Uncertainty #89 »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More Featured Students?

For years, I’ve been showcasing the work of one of my students in my monthly newsletter and here on my site. If you’d like to see a complete list of the students I’ve published, with links to their work, you can find it in the Featured Student Archives. Just click the link below.

Featured Students

What is the The Writer’s Journey Roadmap?

I send out inspiring quotes and provocative writing prompts via email Tuesday. You can collect them for their own use—or you can post your writing online and enter into dialogue and conversation with a very supportive group of writers who have made this part of their weekly writing practice.

I invite you to become part of my brilliant, supportive, intimate, honest, inspiring free online community.

I hope to see you up on the Roadmap soon!

First time visitor? Click here to learn about our community.

Like this Virtual Vacation?

You can also read about Laura’s travels to:

Peru 2017

In which Laura and Karyn and 18 writers explore Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley of Peru.

Serbia 2017

In which Laura leads a workshop at the Incest Trauma Center.

Greece 2016

In which Laura explores the wonders of Crete and Santorini with a wide-eyed group of Write, Travel, Transform adventurers.

Vietnam 2015/16

In which Laura, who grew up during the Vietnam War, goes to Southeast Asia and finds out what Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are really like today.

Commonweal 2015

A journey toward healing loss and grief in a magnificent Northern California setting.

Scotland 2015

In which Laura returns to Scotland with a new group for another jaunt through the wonders of the Scottish Highlands.

Scotland 2013

In which Laura attends the Edinburgh theatre festival and leads 14 writers to a magical retreat in the highlands of Northern Scotland.

Bali 2013

In which Laura visits Australia, and spends three weeks diving, exploring, and teaching in three regions of Bali.

Florida 2014

A journey into old age in America in which Laura brings her 86-year-old mother to Florida so she can see her last surviving sister one final time.

Mexico 2014

In which Laura attends the San Miguel Writer’s Conference and explores the artistic towns around Patzcuaro.

About Laura Davis

In the course of my career as a communicator, I have also worked as a columnist, talk show host, radio reporter, radio producer, blogger, editor, and speaker. Words have always been at the core of my work and my self-expression. Read More . . .

Photo taken by Jason Ritchey

Tags

adventure Aging Parents Alzheimer’s Bali cancer Commonweal creative writing creativity dementia Ellen Bass emp empty nest entrepreneur featured writers greece Laura's stories Laura's wisdom marketing memoir mexico Mother-Daughter parenting teenagers poetry reconciliation retreats sandwich generation Scotland spirituality teaching travel travel adventure Vietnam write travel transform writing practice writing retreat writing tips writing workshop

What People Are Saying About Laura Davis:

[shtmlslider name='shslider_options']

Retreating with Laura: Julie Sheehan

Julie Sheehan

For many years I put off my dream of writing and traveling. I told myself the kids were too little, my husband could never survive without me, that I couldn't possibly be so selfish. I couldn't imagine realistically stepping out of all of my responsibilities and roles. Then I started attending Laura’s summer retreat at Commonweal in northern California and that became an annual gift to myself for the next three years.

When the opportunity to travel with Laura internationally came up, my Land of Later mentality said I could never pull it off. But when my friend got cancer at age 39, I decided to stop taking life and it's endless opportunities to grow, live, nurture and explore myself for granted.

My children were 6 and 9 when I began allowing myself the luxurious pleasure of taking 10 days to two weeks each year to travel abroad with Laura, to spend time with like minded, soul searching people who share a passion for living and writing, to have all my meals prepared for me, to have the space and freedom to stretch out of my cage and check in with who I am, what I want, and how best to get there.

Laura is a skilled and nurturing teacher who encourages her students to take risks, to grow as human beings, and to be vulnerable. She has provided me with a forum where I can gain all my CEUs and learn techniques on how to become a more engaging writer, all while completing yearly emotional rehab.

I return home from each of Laura’s trip a little wiser, a little more open, and a lot more compassionate. I greet my family, friends and daily life with sparkly, clean energy and a renewed patience, brought about by way of re-writing old stories that I needed to let go of. I come home ready to move forward in my life.

A retreat with Laura Davis is one of the best gifts I ever received and gave myself. It took many years to realize that I was worth the time and financial investment, but now there is no looking back.

Julie Sheehan, Livermore California

Recent Comments

  • Pennie on What I Can’t Do
  • Susan on The Rooster
  • Jodie Wiggins on Virtual Vacation: The Junjarri: Australia, Day 5
  • Mary L. Cryns on What I Can’t Do
  • Amika Kemmler-Ernst on What I Can’t Do

Recent Posts

Helpful Resources in a Time of Uncertainty #101

Politics and Writing Biden chooses Amanda Gorman as youngest known inaugural poet Tomorrow’s ... [Continue Reading]

Other Posts:

  • Helpful Resources in a Time of Uncertainty #100
  • Writing Through the Pandemic: January 12, Number 3
  • Writing Through the Pandemic: January 12, Number 2

Writing Retreats

Whether you are a beginner, an established writer, a published author, or are looking for a creative vacation with your spouse…I have a retreat for you.

Read more . . .

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2021 Laura Davis