NAN SANDERS POKERWINSKI
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HeartWood
A blog about cultivating
creativity, connection and contentment
wherever you are

Last Wednesday Wisdom for June

6/29/2016

8 Comments

 
On the last Wednesday of every month, I serve up a potpourri of advice, inspiration and other tidbits I've come across in recent weeks. Here's this months' serving of Last Wednesday Wisdom. As always, you get a reward for reading to the end, this time, a preview of coming attractions!
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What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across the grass
and loses itself in the sunset.
-- Crowfoot, (ca 1830-1890), Blackfoot warrior and orator
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We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise, we harden.
​-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Once someone asked a well-known Thai meditation master, "In this world where everything changes, where nothing remains the same, where loss and grief are inherent in our very coming into existence, how can there be any happiness? How can we find security when we see that we can't count on anything being the way we want it to be?" The teacher, looking compassionately at this fellow, held up a drinking glass that had been given to him earlier in the morning and said, "You see this goblet? For me, this glass is already broken. I enjoy it. I drink out of it. It holds my water admirably, sometimes even reflecting the sun in beautiful patterns. If I should tap it, it has a lovely ring to it. But when I put this glass on a shelf and the wind knocks it over, or my elbow brushes it off the table and it falls to the ground and shatters, I say, 'Of course.' When I understand that this glass is already broken, every moment with it is precious. Every moment is just as it is, and nothing need be otherwise."
-- Stephen Levine in Who Dies?: An Investigation of Conscious Living and Conscious Dying (Anchor, 1982)
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The intellect can understand a story--but only the imagination can tell it.
 -- Stephen Koch in The Modern Library Writer's Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction ​(Modern Library Paperbacks, 2009)
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He who has made a thousand things and he who has made none, both feel the same desire: to make something.
-- Antonio Porchia
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I love my rejection slips. They show me I try.
​-- Sylvia Plath
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Be joyful/though you have considered all the facts.
-- Wendell Berry (in "Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front:)

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Coming attractions: 
  • We'll spend a morning with artist Brenda Huckins Bonter and an all-ages, all-levels painting class she teaches every other Thursday at St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Says Brenda: "I do love to create art in a variety of media, but my real passion is for teaching. To be able to share the joy of creating, see progress in skill, and see students discover a new part of themselves is so exciting!" You'll see that process in action and hear more from Brenda and the Thursday painters in an upcoming post.
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Brenda Huckins Bonter
  • ​In another post, we'll take to the woods with a weekly women's hiking club that started up recently. I've been on three hikes with the club, and it's been fun getting to know a new group of women while enjoying the outdoors and exploring Newaygo County's many trails.
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  • Who knows what else I'll find to share with you? I've got lots of ideas, but as always, I welcome your suggestions.
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Photo by NanSRFP
8 Comments
Susan Stec link
6/29/2016 09:18:46 am

I love my connection and contentment fix. ❤️

Reply
Nan
7/9/2016 12:03:57 pm

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Reply
Debbie Hanson
6/29/2016 11:09:10 pm

I love these selections, Nancy, and look forward to next month's.

Have you completed any more of your biography? I have been looking forward to the next part. I've only read the first and hope I didn't miss any subsequent ones.

Reply
Nan
7/9/2016 12:06:23 pm

Thanks, Debbie. The whole memoir is finished, and I'm trying to move it toward publication. Two agents are looking at it right now, so my fingers are crossed.

I think what you read was just an overview on the Memoir page of this website, right? I haven't posted any excerpts from the actual book (except for a few paragraphs in earlier blog posts).

Reply
Sally Pobojewski
7/1/2016 06:18:20 am

I love this blog! You are doing a great job with this - even building interest for future installments. I can't wait to read about your hiking group.

Reply
Nan
7/9/2016 12:07:08 pm

Thanks, Sally! The piece on the hiking group should be coming up in a couple of weeks.

Reply
Cris Trapani
7/3/2016 10:35:15 am

I love these bits of wisdom. Taking the bit about change to heart. Must keep thinking about this as so much exciting change is happening.

Reply
Nan
7/9/2016 12:07:59 pm

What kind of change, Cris??? Do tell!

Reply



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    Nan Sanders Pokerwinski, a former journalist, writes memoir and personal essays, makes collages and likes to play outside. She lives in West Michigan with her husband, Ray.

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