Writing Our Way Home blog

Hurrays and Thankyous: The End of the River... or is it?

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Hurray for the River! For the past 31 days you have been paying attention to something every day and writing it down. Even if you only wrote one small stone there is a teensy bit more mindfulness in the world. This is a good thing.

We'd love to go out with a big SPLASH and have a record number of comments on our 'put your small stone here' post today. If you've been writing all year or if you've never written one before, find out about small stones and then add yours here. As well as leaving your small stone, tell us how you got on during the month - what was it like? Feel free to add your blog address too so people can keep in touch.

We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who's participated in this year's River. We've so enjoyed reading all your small stones, and hearing from people who've found some benefit in the practice. With your help we've spread the small stone habit to a whole new swathe of people around the world.

A special thank you to Amy from Half-Assed Mama, who put together the River blogroll for us this year. _/\_

A very grateful thank you to all our marvellous guest bloggers, who you can see below. The whole series is here.

If you'd like to know how to submit your small stones to this year's small stone anthology, do join our River mailing list.

You can also stay in touch by visiting us here, taking one of our ecourses (Writing Ourselves Alive & Eastern Therapeutic Writing are starting very soon), or joining our free community for people who want to connect with the world through writing. We'll leave the blogroll up until the end of the week.

Either way, we hope you might write a small stone or two before next January when, of course, The River will be even bigger!
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The River of Stones LAST DAY: post your 31st Jan small stones here

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Whoop! Whoop! This is the last day of our January mindful writing challenge: The River of Stones. This is 2012's last small stone thread. Let's go for a record number of comments...

Do leave your last small stone of the challenge in the comments below. And let us know how you got on this month - what was it like? And do feel free to add your blog addresses so you can keep in touch with each other.

And we DO hope you carry on writing them. Thank you all for sharing your small stones - we've enjoyed reading them very much!

(We're sorry to hear that some people were stymied by the overzealous word verification codes... I've turned them off for the time being so you can post away at your leisure!)

"Ink on paper is as beautiful to me as flowers on the mountains; God composes, why shouldn't we?" ~ Terri Guillemets

This is Real Life

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:30:00 +0000

Fiona writes: Yesterday, my computer broke.

I'm typing this on Kaspa's computer. He's just left for work, having spent 5 hours trying to get mine to work and so-far-failing. He has LOTS of things to do. So do I. We're both behind. This is real life.

On Sunday we went to a Chinese dragon dance. We ate Chinese before-hand, which I'd been looking forward to all week. The vegetarian options were odd fake beef, chips & very spicy noodles. I hate spicy food. (The dragons were magnificent.) This is real life.
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The River: How We Make Big by Elizabeth Howard

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:52:00 +0000

This post is part of the River of Stones guest post series, our mindful writing challenge. Properly notice one thing each day, and write it down. Click here to find out more.

Today we're very happy to host Elizabeth Howard...

Elizabeth writes: It is still a coming realization for me that I am my own person.

Even when I was a little kid in a big family and I was deciding what I wanted to "be", it was hard to imagine I could be just exactly who I wanted to be.

Part of life is the never-ending search for "identity." It's one of life's BIG QUESTIONS...

WHO AM I?

Or maybe, more accurately:

Who should I be?

The River of Stones: post your 30th Jan small stones here

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This is the 30th day of our January mindful writing challenge: The River of Stones. Each day in January we'll create a post, like this one, where you can leave your small stone for that day as a comment. This is today's small stone thread.

Do leave your 30th small stone of the challenge in the comments below. We're nearly finished!

"No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader."
~ Robert Frost

My new secret word-of-the-year: s***loads.

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:36:00 +0000

Fiona writes: What do I think when I look at this raspberry tart?

"I want a big piece." "I want two." "I want some chocolate afterwards."

This year, I chose 'enough' as my 'word-for-the-year'. I wanted to find a way of feeling satisfied with what I already had.

Today, I went walking on the Malvern hills with my friend. We talked about what might be holding me back from being satisfied about where I am now. Why do I keep hankering after the money to buy a cottage in the country?

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The River of Stones: post your 29th Jan small stones here

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This is the 29th day of our January mindful writing challenge: The River of Stones. Each day in January we'll create a post, like this one, where you can leave your small stone for that day as a comment. This is today's small stone thread.

Also look out for blog posts by our guest writers this month, on topics such as creativity, writing and mindfulness. Click here to view the guest posts.

Do leave your 29th small stone of the challenge in the comments below.

"Look around you...Feel the wind, smell the air. Listen to the birds and watch the sky. Tell me what's happening in the wide world."
~ Nancy Farmer

The River: What my baby told me about time by Clare Law

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:14:00 +0000

This post is part of the River of Stones guest post series, our mindful writing challenge. Properly notice one thing each day, and write it down. Click here to find out more.

Today we're delighted to host Clare Law...

Clare writes: In the dark week at the end of the year we celebrated our son’s first birthday. I’ve learnt a lot in the year (plus nine months) that he’s been with us. Things like how to do an unwanted nappy change on a person who seems to have eight arms and four legs. And that Weetabix is best cleared up straight away, because it sets as hard as plaster. Oh, and how to find more tether when I think I’ve reached the end of mine. And how to ask my husband to take over.

Of course, the baby gives back freely and generously. His fresh, magical view of the world is infectious; and there are moments every week when I feel an incredible peaceful joy because I am in the right place doing the right thing. But he’s also taught me something about time.

The River of Stones: post your 28th Jan small stones here

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This is the 28th day of our January mindful writing challenge: The River of Stones. Each day in January we'll create a post, like this one, where you can leave your small stone for that day as a comment. This is today's small stone thread.

Also look out for blog posts by our guest writers this month, on topics such as creativity, writing and mindfulness. Click here to view the guest posts.

Do leave your 28th small stone of the challenge in the comments below.

"I think that my job is to observe people and the world, and not to judge them. I always hope to position myself away from so-called conclusions. I would like to leave everything wide open to all the possibilities in the world."
~ Haruki Murakami

The River: Same year, different story by Jean Morris

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:09:00 +0000

This post is part of the River of Stones guest post series, our mindful writing challenge. Properly notice one thing each day, and write it down. Click here to find out more.

Today we're delighted to host Jean Morris...

Jean writes: I could write a rather grim summary of 2011, of demanding, difficult, dragging months. But there’s another story, a story that’s also all mine, in the Small Stones I started writing for last January’s River of Stones, and kept up, to my surprise, on a new blog, for most of the ensuing year.

1 January

At 4 pm the daylight's almost gone - a layered, enclosing snail-shell of darkness.

16 January

A seagull's cry: the wide, damp street outside flickers and becomes a wide, damp, biscuit-coloured beach.

The River of Stones: post your 27th Jan small stones here

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This is the 27th day of our January mindful writing challenge: The River of Stones. Each day in January we'll create a post, like this one, where you can leave your small stone for that day as a comment. This is today's small stone thread.

Also look out for blog posts by our guest writers this month, on topics such as creativity, writing and mindfulness. Click here to view the guest posts.

Do leave your 27th small stone of the challenge in the comments below.

"Never trust to general impressions, my boy, but concentrate yourself upon details.”
~ Arthur Conan Doyle

The River: The creative magic of a daily ritual by Michael Nobbs

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:32:00 +0000

This post is part of the River of Stones guest post series, our mindful writing challenge. Properly notice one thing each day, and write it down. Click here to find out more.

Today we're very privileged to host Michael Nobbs...

Michael writes: I love the idea of writing small stones and not just because they are a beautiful thing. More than that they are a daily ritual. Daily rituals, almost whatever they are, have a magic that can transform our creative lives.

## Add a rhythm to our days

Simple rituals that we enjoy and that are easily repeatable (like writing small stones) add a rhythm to our days that make creativity a priority and that can increase our creative output hugely.
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The River of Stones: post your 26th Jan small stones here

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This is the 26th day of our January mindful writing challenge: The River of Stones. Each day in January we'll create a post, like this one, where you can leave your small stone for that day as a comment. This is today's small stone thread.

Also look out for blog posts by our guest writers this month, on topics such as creativity, writing and mindfulness. Click here to view the guest posts.

Do leave your 26th small stone of the challenge in the comments below.

“Do stuff. be clenched, curious. Not waiting for inspiration's shove or society's kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. It's all about paying attention. attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. stay eager.”
~ Susan Sontag

Our qarrtsiluni issue, 'Worship'

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:22:00 +0000

On a non-small-stone-related note (there will be more of these soon!) the issue of online literary magazine Qarrtsiluni that Kaspa & I edited finished yesterday. The magazine was started & is run by Dave Bonta & Beth Adams, left, who do good good work in the world.

"We don’t remember when we first talked about guest editing an issue of qarrtsiluni — we guess it must have been back in the spring of last year. We threw around a whole bunch of ideas before settling on Worship as the theme, and it feels like we have lived closely with it since then.

We do have a sense that everyone is involved in some act of worship, although we don’t always use that word to describe those acts. We were curious to see what people made of the theme..."

You can read/hear Kaspa's summary and see the whole table of contents if you pop across now.

(We're still loving reading all your small stones. Keep 'em coming, not long to go now!)

The River: Necessary to the poem by A. F. Harrold

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:42:00 +0000

This post is part of the river of stones guest post series. The river of stones is our mindful writing challenge. Properly notice one thing each day, and write it down. Click here to find out more. Our guest post series features writers talking about the art of noticing, writing and more...

Today we're delighted to host A.F. Harrold...

A.F. writes: It’s very kind of Fiona and Kaspa to invite me to contribute a post to this month of looking at things. I thought the best thing I could do, rather than blabber on, is simply offer a poem with a couple of words of introduction. I hope that satisfies.

The River of Stones: post your 25th Jan small stones here

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This is the 25th day of our January mindful writing challenge: The River of Stones. Each day in January we'll create a post, like this one, where you can leave your small stone for that day as a comment. This is today's small stone thread.

Also look out for blog posts by our guest writers this month, on topics such as creativity, writing and mindfulness. Click here to view the guest posts.

Do leave your 25th small stone of the challenge in the comments below.

"Direct observation of the luminous essence of nature is for me indispensable."
~ Robert Delaunay

The River: Size matters – the importance of scale by Mark Charlton

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:43:00 +0000

This post is part of the River of Stones guest post series, our mindful writing challenge. Properly notice one thing each day, and write it down. Click here to find out more.

Today we're delighted to host Mark Charlton...

Mark writes: I’ve been thinking a lot recently about scale. It began with a talk by the artist Julian Meredith. Julian makes life-size images, sometimes woodcuts, sometimes earthworks – of whales and dolphins and other huge animals. Reduced size images he said, are part of the reason we pay so little attention to images at all.

The River of Stones: post your 24th Jan small stones here

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This is the 24th day of our January mindful writing challenge: The River of Stones. Each day in January we'll create a post, like this one, where you can leave your small stone for that day as a comment. This is today's small stone thread.

Also look out for blog posts by our guest writers this month, on topics such as creativity, writing and mindfulness. Click here to view the guest posts.

Do leave your 24th small stone of the challenge in the comments below.

"Accuracy of observation is the equivalent of accuracy of thinking."
~ Wallace Stevens

The River: Time Rushes On by Luisa A. Igloria

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspalita Thompson) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:58:00 +0000

This post is part of the River of Stones guest post series, our mindful writing challenge. Properly notice one thing each day, and write it down. Click here to find out more.

Today we're delighted to host Luisa A. Igloria. Luisa's essay is the longest one in the series. I encourage you to make time to read the whole thing. Luisa is writing about how art forms a bridge to our homes and asks what this means for those of us unfixed from our homes. (There are some of Luisa's poems here too.)

Go and make yourself a cup of tea, or coffee, and come back, settle down, and read something wonderful...

"Literature can console, but not enough." ~Derek Walcott

"Writing … becomes a practice of gathering and giving back what one has received." ~Vicente Rafael

The world was once nothing but a wide and level plain

Luisa writes: In the northern Cordillera region of the Philippines (I am from Baguio City), there is a legend that tells how, in an older time, the world was once nothing but a wide and level plain. There were no mountains or hills then, nor rocks, trails, or landmarks by which to calculate distances and tell a man where he was going. Thus, people who went on journeys always lost their way; or, venturing far afield, when they stumbled into enemy villages, were killed or captured. Their god Kabunian pointed out that all they had to do was note where the sun rose in the east and set in the west, and they would know where they were. But the people complained that since the land was flat and unmarked, east and west seemed the same. Their god sent a messenger from the underworld to make a journey alongside a representative of the tribe. If the former managed to find his way back unaided to the starting point, he would be allowed to take the souls of people with him into the underworld; if he lost, then the god Kabunian would have to give the land more definition. The messenger from the underworld was crafty; when he set out on the prescribed journey, he made deep holes in the ground with his walking stick, creating a trail he could follow back to the village. Some of the young hunters from the tribe saw what he was up to. They took a jug of rice wine and raced ahead of him and set it on his path. He came across the wine, and delighted; sat down to drink. When he was thoroughly intoxicated, the hunters emerged and did away with him. At the end of the day, the people said defiantly that since the messenger from the underworld technically did not finish his journey, Kabunian had to keep his part of the bargain. And so Kabunian made mountains and hills of many heights and shapes, created rocks, ridges, landforms and water forms, each one different from the rest; and it is said that from this time on, the people never got lost again.

The River of Stones: post your 23rd Jan small stones here

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This is the 23rd day of our January mindful writing challenge: The River of Stones. Each day in January we'll create a post, like this one, where you can leave your small stone for that day as a comment. This is today's small stone thread.

Also look out for blog posts by our guest writers this month, on topics such as creativity, writing and mindfulness. Click here to view the guest posts.

Do leave your 23rd small stone of the challenge in the comments below.

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around
you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."
~ Roald Dahl

The River: The words that matter by Susannah Conway

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:35:00 +0000

This post is part of the River of Stones guest post series, our mindful writing challenge. Properly notice one thing each day, and write it down. Click here to find out more.

Today we are very honoured to welcome Susannah Conway.

I write things down to remember them, which sounds ludicrously obvious, I know, but wait for a moment. On my kitchen table there is a Post It note that holds the words: kale, lemons, broccoli. Beside my computer there is a piece of paper that holds the words: book gas appointment, pay tax, email Rose. Neither of these will be kept, the words simply memory-joggers, used and then discarded just as quickly.
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The River of Stones: post your 22nd Jan small stones here

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This is the 22nd day of our January mindful writing challenge: The River of Stones. Each day in January we'll create a post, like this one, where you can leave your small stone for that day as a comment. This is today's small stone thread.

Also look out for blog posts by our guest writers this month, on topics such as creativity, writing and mindfulness. Click here to view the guest posts.

Do leave your 22nd small stone of the challenge in the comments below.

""It always comes back to the same necessity:
go deep enough and there is a bedrock of truth, however hard."
~ May Sarton

The River: Seeking to see things more clearly by Douglas Robertson

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 09:37:00 +0000

This post is part of the River of Stones guest post series, our mindful writing challenge. Properly notice one thing each day, and write it down. Click here to find out more. Our guest post series features writers talking about the art of noticing, writing and more...

Today we're delighted to host Douglas Robertson...

Douglas writes: I’m trained to see, that’s what I do for a living.

One of the purposes of the River Of Stones project is to encourage people to pay attention, to be more aware of their surroundings and build up an awareness of the space in which they exist.

As part of this I’d like you to take a bit of time to discuss and understand how you see.

‘What?’ I hear you say, ‘but I can already see, the man’s a fool!’

What I’d like to talk about is the difference between looking and seeing. People often look without seeing, not fully understanding the space that is around them, what makes it what it is, and how it also makes them who they are.

The River of Stones: post your 21st Jan small stones here

noreply@blogger.com (Fiona Robyn) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This is the 21st day of our January mindful writing challenge: The River of Stones. Each day in January we'll create a post, like this one, where you can leave your small stone for that day as a comment. This is today's small stone thread.

Also look out for blog posts by our guest writers this month, on topics such as creativity, writing and mindfulness. Click here to view the guest posts.

Do leave your 21st small stone of the challenge in the comments below.

""Nobody cares much whether you write or not. You just have to do it."
~ Natalie Goldberg

The River: Trusting the Process by Beth Adams

noreply@blogger.com (Kaspalita Thompson) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:49:00 +0000

This post is part of the River of Stones guest post series, our mindful writing challenge. Click here to find out more.

Today we're delighted to host Beth Adams.

Beth Writes: January brings a new River of Stones to the literary and spiritual blogsphere, right at a time when our attention to the world around us might be flagging, along with our spirits. This challenge -- to write one small observation each day -- inspired large numbers of us last year and I have no doubts that it will be the same in 2012. For some, this is the beginning, or renewal, of a daily writing practice. For others, it's the first taste of what that might be like. But the real challenge for all of us, no matter how long we've been doing this, is how to keep going.