Loved the rethinking and reframing discussion. I need to do this consistently in the fall. It is easy to dread the falling light, and long work days. A better lense is cooler weather, and more connection. LOVE the pictures. Well done!
Thanks Liz. I also have end of fall dread. October is my favorite month, and November is my least favorite, so it's a dramatic fall. I'm working on reframing that story too.
That poem, Mary! What a beautiful reframe of an ending. A completion. Love it.
I'm fascinated by the impact the stories we tell ourselves can have on our wellbeing and growth. This week, my writing group will focus on the impact of shame – specifically the shame placed on us by others' stories. There is a lot of Brené Brown! Ps, your daughter sounds ACE. Oh, to have an in-house editor!
Hi Lindsay. Your comments made my day. I always get a little nervous about posting a poem I wrote during the week. I hope your writing group goes well- it sounds fascinating. I think I’m going to write more on shame stories within this series, I say think as I currently only have a colored pencil mind map to guide me but shame is on there. Brene is brilliant and I wish I read her years ago. And yup, my daughter is ace.
I love all of this (and admittedly lol'ed at the thought of you being so proud of your new but broken binoculars!). During this letting go season, I always try to think of old stories that are no longer serving me that I could surrender, and I love all of the threads you've brought together here to help me lean into that invitation.
I've done some myth studying, and like Padraig said, we used to regularly reinvestigate our myths. Our myths were largely placed-based, so that context too is crucial. Part of the problem with Adam and Eve is how many literalists have tried to interpret a myth that was never meant to be interpreted literally, but that is a whole different rant. The midrash Jewish tradition that Adam and Eve, of course, came from would have Jewish teachers regularly reinterpreting the scriptures for the specific contexts their communities found themselves in. The beautiful thing about myths as opposed to factual histories is that they beg to be interpreted in new and diverse ways the older they get. I think our bias toward reason and "facts" has alienated us from the myth and meaning making that, as far as we know, has always characterized humanity.
This idea of reframing is a skill I am developing and I appreciate this discussion. Getting stuck feels so heavy but it also can feel comforting and familiar in an unhealthy kind of way. Thanks for your wise words and your recommendations.
I like the theme here of removing blame. Removing blame from our origin story of Adam and Eve. Removing blame from the end of a marriage. Removing blame from beginnings and endings. And middles.
Mary: I really inspired by this post. It reminds me I to need to "return to the story" to enrich my poetry-writing practice. Thanks for this nugget of wisdom.
I am so glad you found it helpful. Thanks for being here. Ada Limon’s revisiting of story is brilliant. If you haven’t listened to her On Being interview with Krista Tippett, it is phenomenal
So many great resources here that I've made a note to check out. I am constantly inviting myself to revisit my own stories about myself and my relationships and my world .... our stories often serve us for a very specific point in time but then we outgrow them and if we fail to update them then we feel small, stuck, unfulfilled.
I love Poetry Unbound! Another book that challenges us to rethink the stories we are told (and tell ourselves) is Cassandra Speaks by Elizabeth Lesser. She writes this about Eve: "The way I see it, Eve is humankind's first grown-up. The 'temptation' she succumbs to is the most fundamental human yearning--to know oneself, to find one's own path, and to courageously engage with the big world beyond the garden of childhood"(30).
Loved the rethinking and reframing discussion. I need to do this consistently in the fall. It is easy to dread the falling light, and long work days. A better lense is cooler weather, and more connection. LOVE the pictures. Well done!
Thanks Liz. I also have end of fall dread. October is my favorite month, and November is my least favorite, so it's a dramatic fall. I'm working on reframing that story too.
That poem, Mary! What a beautiful reframe of an ending. A completion. Love it.
I'm fascinated by the impact the stories we tell ourselves can have on our wellbeing and growth. This week, my writing group will focus on the impact of shame – specifically the shame placed on us by others' stories. There is a lot of Brené Brown! Ps, your daughter sounds ACE. Oh, to have an in-house editor!
Hi Lindsay. Your comments made my day. I always get a little nervous about posting a poem I wrote during the week. I hope your writing group goes well- it sounds fascinating. I think I’m going to write more on shame stories within this series, I say think as I currently only have a colored pencil mind map to guide me but shame is on there. Brene is brilliant and I wish I read her years ago. And yup, my daughter is ace.
I love all of this (and admittedly lol'ed at the thought of you being so proud of your new but broken binoculars!). During this letting go season, I always try to think of old stories that are no longer serving me that I could surrender, and I love all of the threads you've brought together here to help me lean into that invitation.
I've done some myth studying, and like Padraig said, we used to regularly reinvestigate our myths. Our myths were largely placed-based, so that context too is crucial. Part of the problem with Adam and Eve is how many literalists have tried to interpret a myth that was never meant to be interpreted literally, but that is a whole different rant. The midrash Jewish tradition that Adam and Eve, of course, came from would have Jewish teachers regularly reinterpreting the scriptures for the specific contexts their communities found themselves in. The beautiful thing about myths as opposed to factual histories is that they beg to be interpreted in new and diverse ways the older they get. I think our bias toward reason and "facts" has alienated us from the myth and meaning making that, as far as we know, has always characterized humanity.
I’m so glad you laughed out loud. I love it when writing makes me do that and I love that my writing does that for others even at my own expense ;)
Yes, that is the beauty of these stories. They can be reinterpreted. We can transform. Thanks for reading and sharing your wisdom Sara.
I am really good at getting stuck; too good.
This idea of reframing is a skill I am developing and I appreciate this discussion. Getting stuck feels so heavy but it also can feel comforting and familiar in an unhealthy kind of way. Thanks for your wise words and your recommendations.
I think you are wise when you recognize that getting stuck also feels comforting and familiar. Thanks for pointing that out and for being here.
Love your poem at the end!
Thank you!
I like the theme here of removing blame. Removing blame from our origin story of Adam and Eve. Removing blame from the end of a marriage. Removing blame from beginnings and endings. And middles.
It’s crazy to think this addiction to blame might have some origin in the stories we tell.
Mary: I really inspired by this post. It reminds me I to need to "return to the story" to enrich my poetry-writing practice. Thanks for this nugget of wisdom.
I am so glad you found it helpful. Thanks for being here. Ada Limon’s revisiting of story is brilliant. If you haven’t listened to her On Being interview with Krista Tippett, it is phenomenal
So many great resources here that I've made a note to check out. I am constantly inviting myself to revisit my own stories about myself and my relationships and my world .... our stories often serve us for a very specific point in time but then we outgrow them and if we fail to update them then we feel small, stuck, unfulfilled.
Yes! Wise words. So glad you found the resources helpful. Thanks for being here.
“Sometimes a question offers the grease we need to get unstuck.” I love this thought! This is a great series, Mary.
I’m so glad you like it. Thanks for being here.
I love Poetry Unbound! Another book that challenges us to rethink the stories we are told (and tell ourselves) is Cassandra Speaks by Elizabeth Lesser. She writes this about Eve: "The way I see it, Eve is humankind's first grown-up. The 'temptation' she succumbs to is the most fundamental human yearning--to know oneself, to find one's own path, and to courageously engage with the big world beyond the garden of childhood"(30).
I loved this one too, and it does fit well into this whole thread Mary has started!
That book looks awesome. Thanks for the rec.