Living and Watching

[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!

Melanie Faith

Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.

Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.

The Society of Professional Journalists

In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.

I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.

Maxine Greene

Philosopher and Education Scholar

Enter your email here to receive Weekly Wide-Awake

back

How many ways can a statue dream of living? Every time I reach for you, we begin. We begin. – Mark Nepo

Watching life.

One of my favorite Marie Forleoisms is, “Clarity comes from engagement.” Engaging in life is the exact opposite of watching life. Engaging in life is tricky in that when we engage we can fail in small and huge ways. Engaging in life is an active choice. Watching life might seem like an easier, less risky alternative. I suggest that it is not. When we engage, we move toward clarity and understanding; far better ends than fear and doubt. Engagement sets goals and achieves them. Engagement builds strong relationships with others. Engagement is the dance of inward reflection and outward invitation.

On loneliness and living.

Loneliness is a part of living we can choose without even really knowing it. We choose loneliness when we become isolated from people and activities we love. We choose loneliness when we lose our balance and flow. We choose loneliness when we fall out of the reaching-out-and-reaching-in rhythm with others. Despite that fact that I live in a big city, I am often lonely. The anonymity. The pace. The cultural barriers. The cost. These things can make cities lonely. Loneliness by myself looks different than loneliness in my city. Loneliness by myself is when my need for reflection and quiet spirals into the paralysis of walls and worry and anxiety. Loneliness by myself looks like days without connecting to others. Loneliness by myself looks like writer’s block, endless social media scrolling, and overdosing on news.

Choosing Life

In the choice between living and watching; between loneliness and connection, I choose to live and connect. I choose to engage, even if it means I might fail miserably. I choose to be in relationship with myself and others, even if that takes vulnerability and risk. I choose to get my steps in on my Garmin. I choose to drink water. I choose to listen to my cats purr every day. I choose to bloom petal by petal. I choose to be seen and not watch the world go by.

https://kitt.global/april-9-living-and-watching-mark-nepo-the-book-of-awakening/