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Posts from the ‘writing’ Category

Jan 21

Pen to Paper

“Laugh and grow strong”― Ignatius of Loyola

“Enthusiasm is more important than innate ability, it turns out, because the single more important element in developing an expertise is your willingness to practice.”― Gretchen Rubin, The Happiness Project

I have a stack of notebooks that I use for my Morning Pages ritual (Julia Cameron method), ideas/notes/learnings, and now Julia Cameron’s guidance method – ask a question and write the answer.

Writing helps me think. It’s sensemaking, ordering, connecting, revealing. What already resides beneath the surface awaiting space to rise up. For almost 4 years (pandemic practice), Cast Light is a daily morning ritual, habit, creative outlet to put ideas, thoughts, optimism, joy, light out into the world. To publish consistently and imperfectly with an intent to add and create rather than subtract and criticize.

When I was pulling out a new notebook, the drawing above was in the middle of a blank notebook. My great nephew Liam’s work. He loves to draw and all I need to do when he visits is to hand him a blank notebook and he pours himself on the page. It was fun to find it hidden in what I thought was a blank notebook. A burst of joy in the ordinary and simple. This looks like a representation of a Vikings football fan. Hopeful in the beginning of the season, distraught by mid-season then hopeful again when August pre-season comes around again. A perfect interpretation of the burden of being a purple people eater.

These gems are woven through each day and miss them, looking past or speeding by onto the next thing. Children, flowers, dogs, sunsets, nature, friends, family, self – all here to enjoy and delight in. Look around and see what cues, clues, beauty, art, signs, signals are right in front of you awaiting your noticing, partaking and participation.

“I am out with lanterns, looking for myself.” —Emily Dickinson

Jul 5

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The Sum of Small Things

“When tea becomes ritual, it takes its place at the heart of our ability to see greatness in small things. Where is beauty to be found? In great things that, like everything else, are doomed to die, or in small things that aspire to nothing, yet know how to set a jewel of infinity in a single moment?”― Muriel Barbery, The Elegance of the Hedgehog

Today marks 916 days of posting daily.
It’s my morning ritual and practice.
Weaving together thoughts, quotes anchored in honesty, optimism, what I strive for and miss often, and light.
Sometimes it flows, sometimes it needs to be pulled out.
Clunky and smooth.
Random and ordered.
A mix of it all.
The commitment, the daily practice, the small steps add up.
It sets the direction and intention for each day.
Rituals. Practice. Imperfect action.
Hopefully it helps in our shared journey.
To lighten the load for a few minutes or more.
To extend belonging.
To deepen connection.
Do small things daily.
Explore. Create. Play.

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent Van Gogh

Jul 4

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Taking Flight

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” – Maya Angelou

I have been writing Cast-Light for 8 years with almost 900 posts and intend to continue. And because of this endeavor, I am also launching a new website called Start3Things. It’s been ruminating inside of me for over 3 years and today, on Freedom Day 2019, I am lighting the bottle rocket and launching this new endeavor. It is unfinished and still evolving just like me, but it’s time to launch so it can get momentum that comes from starting, committing and doing the work every day.

I’ve shared the depth of this concept for the past few years with co-worker and good friend Nicki Brunner, Minnemama. She listened, questioned, looked confused and then pushed me to finish the sentence per se. She is a phenomenal human being, artist and writer who designed my Cast-Light logo and designed the Start3Things (S3T) website, which will eventually become my “retirement” business in a decade as it evolves into additional income through subscriptions, e-books, freelance writing and whatever else comes up as it transforms and takes on a life of its own. Maybe even a book – who knows? That’s the goal and the dream. And now comes the work to get there.

Here’s an excerpt from today’s “official” launch article:

“The original concept was based on doing 3 things everyday that move you to your purpose. To becoming the you that you are called to be. And it’s still true today but I realized a few months ago that it’s more than starting and finishing. I’ve been caught the last three years in the middle. I started and then I sputtered and stopped. We have hundreds of ideas of starts but not a proportional amount of finishes. Why? The middle – the working ground. Starting again and where we are at is where living and being intersect.

So S3T started to make more sense as the concept evolved and I evolved my thinking along with it. The only way to the finish is starting but we need that grit and fortitude in the middle to keep going.  Starting is easy compared to the work demanded in the middle to finish.

And the concept of 3 took on more itself as well. Life is a series of beginnings, middles and ends. It’s cyclical and dynamic. And in all areas of our life in one of those areas all at the same time. We are complex beings living in a chaotic world. And the one thing we all have in common to be sure is that we are here for a purpose in our daily life, on our years and in what we leave behind.”

Over the next month, I will be digging in with discipline and rigor to research, curate and write content including a weekly enews, building out pages and articles and posting regularly on Facebook and Instagram. Over time, I will be looking at a mobile app and other features to make this a valuable resource to return to again and again.

Thanks to all who have followed Cast-Light, encouraged me with comments and likes and helped me improve my writing. I am grateful and excited to continue to evolve and develop my writing and have fun along the way with both Cast-Light and Start3Things.

Happy Freedom Day!!

“Metamorphosis has always been the greatest symbol of change for poets and artists. Imagine that you could be a caterpillar one moment and a butterfly the next.” – Louie Schwartzberg

May 20

Speak first, then listen and then listen again

“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.” – Audrey Hepburn

Be careful of what you say and what you hear. I was reminded of this today on several fronts while laying around with the flu. People just want to be heard. No need to solve their problem or give dime store advice. Just listening will do. Well-meaning helpfulness, advice, assumptions and opinions have ruined a good many relationships.

For the quiet ones, slowly expressing and at times pining allows their voice to eventually make sense of thoughts that swirl around inside looking for a place to land. For the exuberant extroverts, sharing is a natural discourse with little effort, and at times, without stopping to consider what comes next. The quiet ones could use less forethought and get it out through the shortcut. The not so quiet ones could use more forethought before racing past the afterthought, taking the longcut.

Don’t interpret yipping as a request to solve a problem and don’t accept silence as agreement or consensus. The good news is that we are not all the same.

Thanks to all who have been patient enough to listen to me through the years on Cast Light on mere observations and my interpretation of the world. Just one voice looking for a place to land.

A good writer can make you feel like they know you. A great writer is an observer who is both self-aware and also aware of the relationships and connections outside of themselves while searching for understanding of the big picture. They may know part of you and they challenge you to keep seeking, asking and going until you transform your perspective for the good.

I hope to be a great writer someday with practice and time.

And while connecting some dots along the way, I’ll have fun sharing through writing rather than speaking.

So lighten up. I plan to do much more of that going forward. I fondly remember my Dad once saying, “if you want to know what’s on Kathie’s mind, read Cast Light, otherwise you’d have no idea what she’s thinking.” He knew me the best of all because he was just like me or vise versa. That’s the thing with both understanding and being understood. Together, they are rare and oh so special. St. Francis nailed it:

“Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned”

“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.” – Omar Khayyam

“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.” – Omar Khayyam

With a bit less pining and consternation, there’s more time for the fun stuff. And the really good posts are always about Abby and Sasha who have no struggle casting light. They just love being, and they’re good listeners too. Can’t imagine what they think of me, but I’m opting for the good version.

Speak and more importantly, listen.