At Align Your Story Writing School, we bring traditional literary and creative writing studies together with mindfulness, embodied practices, and social and environmental engagement. Join a community of over 25,000 other mindful writers. Get the tools and community to write your best work.
Happy Solstice: a Poem and More
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Dear Reader, Happy solstice—the light is returning! In this dark year in our collective history, at this dark time in the year's cycle, it's good to remember other possibilities... I want to share this Solstice poem with you :) On the Shortest Day of the Year
from I Say the Sky by Nadia Colburn
Even if there is only the smallest door made of stone, with no handle, bend low, put all your weight into it:
it opens onto the wide expanse
of where you’ve never been— groundless, blue, and untranslatable,
and there—just at the edge of your vision—
a single purple flower, rooting down. My secret title for this poem is "Against Despair." In the darkness, we learn to see not with our eyes, but with other ways of perceiving. And when it feels like there is no way out, often there is a tiny opening.... In that space that at first seems almost impossible, where the little purple flower's petals stretch up to the sun and its roots dig deep into the dark earth, I learn again and again that there is always something connecting me—and all of us—to the fertile ground. Even deep in winter. Poetry itself has often felt to me like that smallest door. When I put my weight into it, something magical happens. It's a kind of energetic transformation, and I can pass through into something new and expansive. I invite you to join me in my upcoming Writing to Heal Class. We'll be exploring how to find those doorways, even if they are small, in the dark. I'll share research and practices. The class is for anyone who wants to write to heal themselves or learn new techniques to use with students or clients. We'll also explore the healing benefits of different forms of writing, including the ways poetry can help us heal. This is not a poetry class, but a class in which we explore how writing, narrative, and language, coupled with embodied practices, are tools for healing. The class will start in mid-January. Click here to be automatically added to the waitlist if you haven't already. People on the waitlist will be notified first when enrollment opens and receive a bonus only for those who sign up from the waitlist :) Again, happy Solstice! This community is, for me, a light in the dark! Thank you for being here. Thank you for being you. Thank you for your heart and spirit, your actions, words, and voices! I feel very lucky to be connected with you and the kindness, thoughtfulness, and generosity of this community. with love, |
Hi! I'm Nadia Colburn—writer, teacher, yogi, activist
At Align Your Story Writing School, we bring traditional literary and creative writing studies together with mindfulness, embodied practices, and social and environmental engagement. Join a community of over 25,000 other mindful writers. Get the tools and community to write your best work.
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