I am thrilled to introduce our second Calm Space Challenge!

Over five days we’ll challenge you with five simple steps towards a happier, more confident you, brimming with energy and enthusiasm once again!

It all starts with you.

THE WHY

You’ve heard of the law of attraction. You’ve heard the saying ‘what you believe, you can achieve’. You know that to manifest something like energy, confidence and enthusiasm for life, you’ve first got to imagine it’s already here.

And there’s the rub.

It’s so hard to imagine brimming with energy, feeling totally at ease with the image you’re presenting to the world and walking with your head held high when you feel so drained and depleted. It seems like we’re always filling everyone else’s tanks to overflowing and looking after the needs of those we love. And our warning light for low fuel is constantly on.

What do you do when the warning light comes on in your car telling you you’ve only a small amount of petrol left in the tank? Hopefully, you pull into the nearest petrol station and fill up. Because the alternative is just too embarrassing.

Not so easy when it’s your own soul-tank that’s sounding echo-y and perilously close to running dry.

What do you do when you’ve got nothing left to give? What do you do when you just feel like hiding under the doona, or lying on the couch with a tub of ice-cream and day-time TV? What do you do when you cannot even face the idea of getting up and getting on with things? What do you do when your enthusiasm for life has left the building?

You could fall in a heap (sound familiar?) or, you could show yourself a little kindness and build yourself back into that confident woman again.

WANT TO LEARN?

Join us for five days where you will learn:

• to top up your tank so you never run dry again (and avoid those embarrassing break-downs)
• where to look for permission to take care of yourself and where not to
• how to boost your energy and put pep in your step without overdosing on caffeine
• how to get a fresh surge of enthusiasm for your life
• ways to walk tall and feel more confident in almost everything you do (and be way less needy)
• to take action and get things done when you’d rather just curl up on the lounge

If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete

~Buddha

So How Does This Work?

• Commencing Tuesday 14th September for five days
• You’ll receive an email each morning with a prompt to check out the simple daily challenge. Each step is simple (but not necessarily easy) and we’re estimating a daily commitment of about 15 minutes or so
• You’ll be invited to pop in and let us know how you feel about each day
• And the best bit? Community and conversation around each of the five activities is built in! Participants found the community connection to be so very valuable in their learning experience at our last challenge. Come experience the power of the group for yourself! If you’re having trouble, need help or have an experience you’d love to share – you’ll get it, and more!

We’ve again partnered with Ruzuku who are generously providing us use of their newly revised application (yep, they’ve done a heap of work on it since our last challenge!) – and all they ask in return is feedback from us to help them make their application the best learning portal in the world! (Not too much to ask, is it?)

So, are you in?

Is it time you showed yourself a little kindness?

Join us – it’s Free!!

We’ll send you an email with all the details – simply leave your first name and email address below.

Two quick things before you register:

1. As they are in development testing phase, Ruzuku currently has a maximum capacity of 50. Last time we ran a challenge, we filled that in less than a week. So – if you’re in – get IN, now.
2. You’ll get the best out of the challenge by showing up fully. If you know that next week (14th to 18th September) is going to be crazy for you, and you’re unlikely to have time to participate as it’s running, it’s probably best if you sit this one out. Let someone else have your spot. (I’m sure you’ll be rewarded for your generosity…).

Register Now!

P.S. You’ll receive an email almost immediately asking you to confirm your interest. You need to click on the link in that email. It’s all to do with stopping the spammers… (if it doesn’t come through, check your spam folder!)

P.P.S. It’s free. It’s only 5 days. You could learn something. Your life could improve, even a little. What have you got to lose?

Smile, Breathe and Go Slowly

~Thich Nhat Hanh

Five simple words. Five powerful words. Smile. Breathe. Go Slowly.

This month, we invite you to smile, go slowly and breathe with us. We’re talking all month about breathing, and so far the wisdom astounds me!

As a teenager, I learned wind instruments and played in bands and orchestras. I grew up in a smallish city, and there were only a couple of woodwind teachers. My friend Joy (who always lived up to her name) learned from one reputed to be the best.

As woodwind players, breath is the most important thing. Without breath, you cannot play.

And the breath must come from the diaphragm first – low and deep. Some young players have great difficulty learning to breathe deeply. And so Joy’s teacher had developed a technique to build their ability and their breathing muscles. Yes, I did say muscles. After a rigorous morning practice at the start of the year, not only would our lips be sore and quite often blistered, our embouchure (cheek and jaw) muscles aching, but our stomach muscles would require the assistance of a heat pack!

The technique? He had his students lie flat on their back on the ground and placed a pile of big heavy books on their diaphragm (below the ribs). Then, with each inhalation of breath, the books had to rise in the air. With each exhalation, they had to lower. We all thought he was barbaric.

Once you learn to breathe deeply (hopefully without a stack of books!), it stays with you for life. I breathe in my diaphragm without thinking about it after all those years blowing through a reed.

Deep breathing fills your body with oxygen and that oxygenation provides your body with huge health benefits. Placing your focus on your breathing calms your mind, reduces anxiety and stress levels and brings you peace. Hmm… no wonder we’re talking about Breath this month!

New for You this Week at the Calm Space:

At Organising Space - Before the Work Begins – Angela shares the best preparation you can do before you start a big project

At Guest Space – The Breath of Inspiration – we welcome Lisa Rough, artist, writer and creativity coach with her first, very inspiring, appearance at Calm Space! Please make Lisa feel welcome!

At Breathing Space – Breath is Spirit. The act of breathing is Living – soak in the beauty of a stunning photo by Rosa Say. Do download our desktop wallpaper and remember to take a big, deep breath right down to your toes, every time you catch sight of it!

Photo Source: Alto Saxophone by Ben Stassen

]]> http://thecalmspace.com/2010/09/enticing-you-to-breathe-deeply/feed/ 1 http://thecalmspace.com/2010/09/enticing-you-to-breathe-deeply/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheCalmSpace/~3/AHRYzOsWqrk/ http://thecalmspace.com/2010/09/the-breath-of-inspiration/#comments Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:14:27 +0000 Káren Wallace http://thecalmspace.com/?p=6106 We are totally thrilled to welcome Lisa Rough as our guest author this week. More about Lisa below.

We are all artists.

That’s what I tend to believe anyhow. We simply practice our art in different ways.

I think we’re all born with the innate ability to chip away a piece of stone here or add a splash of color there. We are all capable of crafting change, sculpting and refining our truths, and doodling on the walls of the dark caves of our spirits. Yet our culture tames these abilities from a very early age. We’re taught to equate artistic talent with creativity, value competition over self-love, and seek perfection rather than sacred process. Unfortunately, this means that many of us live uninspired lives, where the expression of self goes on the backburner, and we focus instead on getting by, surviving, and checking items off of our ever-growing to-do lists.

But whether or not you call yourself an artist is really no matter. The truth is, you don’t need a box of Crayola crayons or a fancy set of paints to create a life that fulfills you (even though I highly recommend keeping some handy!). The trouble is that many of us rarely slow down long enough to breathe life into our visions and imaginings, honor them in their fullness, and allow them to sift into life as we know it. We all tend to forget that we are creating a masterpiece and tweaking it each time our alarms go off in the morning, so that in a constant effort to be better, thinner, wiser, and richer, our lives grow dusty as we overlook how we are blessed, how we are empowered, and how we are enough in this very moment.

According to the dictionary, to “inspire” is to inhale or to breathe into or upon.

I invite you, right now, to deepen your breath and take a peek around you. Chances are, you’ll see something that warms or delights you. It could be the sun shining through your window and creating that scrumptious warm spot on the floor, or it could be a photograph of your family or a fuzzy purple blanket. Whatever it is, gaze at it with soft eyes and breathe it in, noticing how the air fills your lungs first, and then trickles down into your belly. Go ahead and soften your abdominal muscles, allowing them to expand and pop out. For many of us, relaxing these muscles can be uncomfortable, perhaps making us feel bulky, exposed or vulnerable, especially if we’re used to sucking it in, covering it up, and keeping it trimmed down to squeeze into society’s definition of beautiful and sexy. But to keep our breath shallow means that we keep our souls uninspired. We don’t allow ourselves the fullest expression of who we are and what we are capable of.

The breath is sacred. Without it, you clearly wouldn’t exist. But beyond that, the breath isn’t simply an exchange of gases… it’s an exchange of energy and light… of inviting in what sustains you and letting go of what no longer serves you. It enables you to choose. It enables you to design a life on your own terms, one that tickles your fancies and honors your gifts. It enables you to be a creative being who feels empowered enough to make a difference, both in the world at large, and in your very own personal landscape.

You are an artist, and your breath is your medium.

Breathe passion and action into your ideas and brainstorms. Breathe out the notion of failing.

Breathe magic into the mundane. Breathe out s’pose-tos, shoulds, and have-tos.

Breathe in wildness and messiness. Breathe out the worry that you might appear as though you’ve lost your marbles.

Breathe in adventure. Breathe out the fear of getting lost.

Breathe in trust. Breathe out the effort to keep all your ducks nice and tidy in a row.

Breathe in your brilliance. Breathe out your woundedness.

Breathe in the freedom to find your own way. Breathe out stuckness.

And as you open your eyes to your magnificent journey, behold the masterpiece that you’ve created.

About Our Guest Author

Lisa Rough is a creative life coach and self-taught artist living in the mountains of North Carolina with her family. She’s also a writer and is in the midst of working on her first book.

As a coach, Lisa offers a immense compassion and dedication, backed by a multitude of experiences she has collected along the way…. she has a master’s degree in counseling and psychology, is certified in teaching yoga, has created and sold art that is in private collections all over the world, and has cultivated oodles of compassion and humor from being a stay-at-home mom.

www.SacredCircleCreativeCoaching.com

What should I do to prepare for our session?

This is a question I’m often asked by new clients. It’s no surprise. They’ve just taken action and made an appointment to deal with something that’s bothered them for a while, maybe even years. Now they’re hungry for more action.

For some, that call for help takes a lot of courage. It may come with a sense of failure, after several unsuccessful attempts at getting organised. For some it’s a cry for help brought on by external factors – an impending eviction or ultimatum from a loved one. Most feel weighed down and just want to break free from their cluttered environment.

Making that call or sending that email usually takes some effort, but taking that action brings relief and a sense of accomplishment in itself.

That’s when the question comes.

What should I do to prepare for our session?

They expect the answer will consist of a list of supplies to order in, or some clearing before our work begins. No.

Just breathe.

For 15 minutes before our session, just sit and breathe. Make a cup of tea and treat yourself to rest.

We’ll get busy afterwards. We’ll work hard, make lots of decisions. We’ll create a plan for the future.

But first just breathe, deeply. Be still and let the mind go where it pleases.

Breath is Spirit. The act of breathing is Living.

~Author Unknown

Download our desktop wallpaper calendar for September based on this image
(right click on the link below)

Golden Quiet Wallpaper

Photography by Rosa Say

Take No Action

Life is so busy, isn’t it? Incessant demands on our time have us running all the time, getting things done.

Never stopping to notice the sunset.

Never stopping to breathe.

And the thought of taking an hour off – let alone a day – is so alien. It has us flooded with feelings of guilt or unworthyness.

We think ‘who am I to take time off, when Sue, Joe and Jane never do?‘

Who indeed?

We think ‘what will they think of me, if they find out I’m weak and just can’t cope?‘

Hmmm…

Or even ‘How unrealistic! I can’t take a day off – who will do everything, including (fill in the essential activity)?‘

Is it weakness to know your limits? To Stop, before you fall down?

Or is it strength?

Is it guilt-worthy to recharge your batteries so you can be there, better, for everyone else?

I don’t believe so. And neither should you.

So, sometimes, you have to stop. And in the stopping, you need to put aside the guilt, the what-will-they-think, the things-will-fall-apart-without-me, the worry.

Stay in bed. Let the world revolve without you for a day.

I promise, you’ll surface all the better for it… and the world will not have ended!

(And before you start sending me email to tell me (again) how shallow or unrealistic this is – stop! What is it in you that’s prompting that reaction? If you cannot possibly take the day off, think what will happen when you fall in a heap as illness claims you, or worse still – you injure yourself. That old adage about an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure still holds true, I think. One day off stopped, versus stopped. period. I’ve done both. Prevention works.)

Get Up and Do Something

So, in the opposite scenario, you’re filled with those gloomy thoughts – the ones that overwhelm you and keep you stuck. You know the ones. They can be dark around the edges, or even pitch black in places. They tie you down and stop you from Getting Things Done.

Your desk is probably a mess. The kitchen too. The dirty-clothes hamper is probably overflowing. And don’t even mention your ragged nails, hairy legs (ahem, if you’re a girl:) or flaky skin. You’ve probably got a sniffle, an aching back or a persistent cough.

You’re stuck – well and truly.

Mired in mud.

Urk.

In this case, of course, giving yourself a day in bed would not help. It would make you feel worse.

The remedy? There is only one.

Do Something…

Something small. Something seemingly insignificant.

Clear just one spot in your home or office. Make it clean and beautiful.

Make it so when you catch sight of it, it makes you smile and stand a little taller.

Take a moment to enjoy and relish your accomplishment. For yes, it’s an accomplishment.

Imagine what you could do now.

Then, do another something…

Make your bed. Trim your nails. Stack the dishwasher. Wipe down the sink. Pick up all the dirty clothes and towels from around the house and put them in the laundry. Put a load in the washing machine. Pick up all the piles on your desk and put them somewhere else, then wipe down your desk. Clean out the fish tank and top up the water. Pooper-scoop the back lawn. Pay your bills online. Get your hair cut. Or coloured. Or both.

How Do You Want to Feel?

You want to feel nurtured, comforted, relaxed and peaceful. You want to replenish your batteries.

Or you want to feel energised, inspired, full of energy, focussed and full of life.

Two quick questions…

Are you so overwhelmed with busyness, you sometimes entertain thoughts about getting sick or breaking a leg, just so you have an excuse to rest?

Or are you paralysed with inaction? Frustrated and don’t know your next move? Don’t know where to start? Can’t get inspired?

You know why you’re reading this today…

All I seem to keep coming up with is questions …

But then, as some of my clients would tell you, I am very fond of throwing the odd challenging question to burst, like a grenade, through your thinking! So why change now?

Maybe that’s the link!

The action that your relationship needs at the moment is to sit and be inactive long enough to read these questions.

And then answer the ones that are making you feel least comfortable. Yes I said least comfortable.

SweetP … (love of my life for 37 years –OMG, soooo long!) SweetP and I make it our business to have regular in-depth conversations. It’s a way of keeping ourselves honest with each other. Of course, one dilemma is to even decide what we’ll talk about! Funnily enough we never seem to run out …

Over the years, we’ve realised that when we’re considering potential topics, the ones we actually desperately need to talk about are the ones we react to with an internal wince, a quick frown, a fluttering gut-tightening, or other tell-tale signs! If a topic sets off that feeling of “get me out of here” fight/flight, then that’s the one!

Of course you can cheat yourself and your partner and not show those internal belly flops are happening, but who does that benefit?

Have you got your beverage ready?

What beverage? The one you’re going to have while you read through this list of questions and note your internal responses. The beverage that’s going to buy you the time to be honest (at least with yourself) and admit what topics are the hot buttons in your relationship?

Are you ready to do some thinking about your relationship?

Are you ready to prepare for action on your relationship?

Are you ready to find the direction that conversations, and actions need to take for the sake of that relationship?

Here goes:

• How content are you in your relationship right now?
  • How has that changed over the last 3 months?
  • The last year?
  • The last 5 years?

• How much sparkle and life is there in your relationship right now?
  • What are the signs of sparkle and life that have appeared/disappeared in the last 12 months?
  • How much have you contributed to the arrival/departure of that sparkle?

• How much conflict is there in your relationship right now?
  • How much do you contribute to the conflict?
  • What are the strongest repeating themes in your conflicts?
  • What is your usual behaviour during the conflict?
  • What patterns of behaviour have you noticed in your partner?
  • How do you go about healing the relationship after the conflict has subsided?
  • How much effort do you put into that healing process?
  • How has that degree of effort changed over the last 12 months?

• In what areas of your relationship do you consider yourself superior to your partner?
  • In what areas of your relationship do you believe you are inferior?
  • How is that power struggle benefiting your relationship?
  • How comfortable are you with your position of superiority/inferiority?
  • What have you done to change that?
• How do you go about solving the problems that crop up in your daily lives together?

• How much effort do you put into solving the little issues in your lives?
• How much appreciation do you receive for that?
• How much appreciation do you show for your partner’s problem-solving efforts?

• How often does your partner really get to “know” how much you love her/him?
  • How do you demonstrate that?
  • What evidence do you have that your message hits home?

• When did you last actively “work on your relationship”?
  • What did you do?
  • How much improvement did that make to the connection between you both?

• How do you demonstrate that your love for your partner is unconditional?
  • When might your love appear conditional to your partner?
  • How might your attitudes be affecting your unconditional acceptance of your partner just as he/she is?

• How often do you discuss your relationship, outside of conflicts?
  • How satisfied are you with your level of contribution to that?
  • What might you do differently that could positively impact the relationship?

• What might be actions you could take that would build the connection between you?

• What are you prepared to do, for the sake of your relationship?
  • What are you not prepared to do, for the sake of your relationship?

• What do you need to release, for the sake of your relationship?

Is that enough to get you rolling?

Oh, but don’t forget to take action once you’ve done your thinking.

Don’t let it all overwhelm you.  Just pick one simple baby step that you could take for the sake of your relationship.

And take it…

By the way, let us know how you go!

Photo Source: Couple by Dragunsk Usf

Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one’s thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world.

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

It’s a six letter simple word which rolls off the tongue so easily but often the practice of taking action can be incredibly difficult. It’s the actual doing as opposed to the saying or intention to take action that many of us find so challenging.

Reflecting upon my own personal experiences I recall occasions throughout my life where I have acknowledged the need to take action. I’ve realised I need to take action to make positive change. The actual doing, the actual taking action I compare to preparing for and participating in a triathlon. It can be tough, really tough, both mentally and physically. But the sense of satisfaction and personal achievement is almost impossible to describe. It’s exhilarating.

Often to move forward in many facets of life we need to take action, we need to make a change. Often it’s the mere thought of the contest of taking action which terrifies and polarizes us. The thought of climbing Mount Everest to take action seems impossible.

I’ve found and experienced great comfort and personal success in breaking large challenges and change down into little steps. For me it’s been the little steps which have assisted and supported me in moving forward. In many respects I see much of my adult life as an opportunity to move forward and to grow.

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.

~William James

I see many opportunities to take action. There is much I am passionate about. From politics, to the rights of children, to poverty, to social injustice, I’m a very passionate person, I feel the need to share my thoughts and opinions. I want to contribute in a hands on way to positive change. My nature is to stand up and to take action, to contribute to building a ‘better’ future.

Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.

~Howard Zinn

I’m a big believer in the idea that many hands make light work. And in the idea that together as a collective group we can achieve positive change. Our family recently began sponsoring a young boy in Brazil through the work of World Vision Australia. The thought that every day over 10,000 children under the age of five die from preventable diseases, commonly caused by lack of food, clean water and sanitation encouraged us to sponsor a child. I want to teach my children that many children live in some of the poorest communities in the world, where clean drinking water and access to healthcare is limited.

I want my children to learn and to grow from sponsoring a child and to one day understand they contributed to taking action, to improving the life of child far less fortunate than them.

Almost daily we hear the plight of climate change debated in the media. Many across the community are passionate about climate change and understand the debate very well. I’m still grasping the facts. I need to understand the facts, well, very well, to support a cause in terms of taking action.

How fortunate we are in Australia to live in a country and a society where we can take action against causes we feel passionate about. Being able to express opinion and take action is a freedom not to be taken for granted.

Have you internalised thoughts of wanting to take action? Sometimes it’s the actual starting, the first step which is the most challenging and difficult to take. Sometimes it’s acknowledging the need to take action that is the biggest challenge.

I don’t relax easily. I’m a dreamer with visions. With both my children now in primary school I encouraged myself to think about the areas in my life where I could take action. Areas in my life where I could make change. Change for me.

In 2010 I took action to focus on my writing. To develop my writing and to pursue my love of writing. It wasn’t a course of action I embarked upon easily. I reflected, I debated and I analysed the pros and cons at length. A career change in my late thirties seemed a little out of the box. But driven I was to pursue my love, my passion. To create the environment and space I am most comfortable in.

Taking action wasn’t easy for me. I started from scratch. With no formal writing qualifications beside my name, with no industry contacts. I have slowly taken the steps to establish myself as a freelance writer. Taking action to pursue my passion has been a great journey. I’ve connected and met so many like-minded kindred spirits. I feel supported and encouraged. I know I have made the right choice. For me the biggest challenge in my journey was the decision to finally take action and to run with it.

You’ve got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing.

~Arthur Ashe

Photo Source: University Halo by Jeffrey Pang

ABOUT OUR GUEST WRITER

Stephanie Crawford is a born and bred Melbourne girl, enjoying life in her thirties. She is a mum to two gorgeous boys.

She is back at University studying part time through Open Universities Australia. She is focused on completing a second degree, a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism). Stephanie is finding there is plenty to learn about distance education and online learning.

She is excited to be pursuing her lifelong dream. Her motivation and goal are a career as a freelance writer. She loves to share her opinions and has a passion for writing. She is actively seeking writing opportunities to further develop and strengthen her skills. She wishes she had more time to experiment in the kitchen and more time to harvest her own vegetable garden.

You’ll find Stephanie at her blog, Write to Tell, and on Twitter.

It’s all in how we think about it.

Let’s take showering…

When you bathe first thing in the morning, or last thing at night, treat the experience like a meditation on touch.

Appreciate the water running through your hair and down over your skin. As you lather and wash your body, really concentrate on what you are doing.

Give yourself a scalp massage as you wash your hair.

Luxuriate in the feel of the water on your skin.

Stop your mind from wandering to your day – either the thoughts of all you have to do, or the thoughts of all you didn’t get done. Forget it for just the few minutes you are in the shower and appreciate the tactile experience fully.

I promise the day will still be there when you get out of the shower, but you will now be better equipped to deal with it!

Action doesn’t have to be a large commitment. It doesn’t need a complicated plan or a large chunk of your time. Many things, including adding a bit of daily writing to your day, can be done in very small steps.

Carve fifteen minutes out of your morning to write a hundred words and in a month you will have accumulated 3,000 words. A few minutes of active writing will turn a few dozen sentences written every day into a wealth of memories and information.

Here are three writing actions that can be done in 15 minutes segments of time. If the prompts lead you nowhere you want to follow, then you have only invested a few minutes in them. Stop. Try a different prompt or technique. Not every prompt works for every writer. But if you strike a rich writing vein, you may want to continue writing longer than the planned time. Or you may want to put your writing aside for that day and continue the next day.

Either way, the words will add up quickly, and you will have stories, free flowing thoughts, ideas, glimpses of the past, snippets of descriptions — all inspiration to add to your memoir project.

Pick an Action and Start Writing Today

Action #1. Write for 15 minutes describing what you and your immediate family were doing when you heard about or experienced a newsworthy event. Pick one that affected a large number of people in the world. Perhaps you watched a global event like the tearing down of the Berlin Wall or when the man first walked on the moon on television.

Action #2. Contrast this prompt with the first action. Write about an event that affected only a small number of people on a personal level. Perhaps it was the birth of a long awaited baby in the family, a move to a new home, or the loss of a job. Or write about an event that happened in your hometown or the death of a well known person that affected you and yours deeply.

Action #3. Another technique for zeroing in on a specific event, and then expanding on its effect on you, is to do short interviews – only one to three questions in length – with several people who experienced the same event. Asking people of different ages and who are at different stages in life can highlight the similarities and differences that an event had not only you, but on other people in your life. It adds meaning and depth when viewed from different perspectives.

Putting Action #3 in Action

I choose a rather difficult topic when I decided to do Action # 3.  I asked family members questions about 9/11, the World Trade Center tragedy in New York City that occurred nearly a decade ago.

I asked my husband, two of my kids, and my mother questions about that unforgettable day. I purposely chose family members from three generations.

(In 2001, when the event happened, the participants in my interviews were a 76 year old woman living in a small town in the Midwest, a 46 year old businessman who was at work in a downtown Chicago skyscraper on that fateful day, a 20 year old college junior studying at the University of Michigan, and a 13 year old living at home and attending middle school.)

I asked two questions.

First, a personal question: “What were you doing when you first heard about about the 9/11 tragedy?”

Second, a perspective question: “How did you think this event would affect you, your family, and/or your country?”

Here are a few excerpts from the interviews:

“…didn’t even know about it til the evening news. I’d been in the garden…never in my life we ever had the enemy on American soil…I thought maybe soldiers would be a coming, maybe we’d have war right here…”

“…was working on the 45th floor of the Sears Tower, one of Chicago’s skyscrapers…we had to evacuate. Walk down the stairs and not take anything except our briefcases with us. The streets were jammed with stalled traffic and people crowding the sidewalks. When I reached the train station, I was told the trains were no longer running…I was in a park and drive 40 miles from the station…I was 150 miles away from my home and family…desperate to get home. I figured we would be okay once we were all together…”

“While getting ready for a class, I saw a bunch of kids crowded around a TV in the lounge. I stopped to see what they were looking at. I was watching the TV and I saw the second plane…I couldn’t even think what it could mean. I was in shock. We were all in shock…”

“I was in eighth grade. The teachers kept whispering in the hallways all day long, and kept saying “don’t worry.” Except we didn’t know what we weren’t supposed to worry about, so we worried more than if they had just told us…parents started coming and taking their kids out of school… during my last class of the day, my history teacher brought a TV into class and we discussed what had happened… I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand what it meant.”

When the experiences of others are added to my interpretation of the day’s events, it presents a vivid picture of that time in history from different perspectives. It adds depth to the story and helps ground the events in real time.

Try one or more of the actions. Get inspired. Set your timer. Start writing.

Stay in action.

Photo Credit: Formal Gardens (c) 2010 Bo Mackison