[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
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Against Our Will
As an inlet cannot close itself to the sea that shapes it, the heart can only wear itself open. – Mark Nepo
Against our will years pass.
The years pass. Children mark time. Seasons mark time. Death marks time. Embracing the passage of time is as natural as a chrysalis, a seed, an egg, a flower, a tide. Our will can learn that time allows scars and stories and wisdom. Our will can understand that we must treasure moments as years pass. Moments pass whether we treasure them or not. Moments pass whether we mark them well or not. Moments pass whether we celebrate or regret.
Against our will change occurs.
Change happens. We can either allow change to harden us to an unrecognizable shell of fear, pain and anxiety, or we can make change an ally. We can sit down and talk with change. We can look change in the eye and explain that learning and growth are critical to life, and ask her to please walk beside us allowing us to understand our power in every situation. In that way, our will gently guides change.
Against our will softness is strength.
It might seem counter intuitive that softness is strength, but it is not. Softness is strength when we understand the only way is through. Softness is strength when we reach out for help. Softness is strength when we allow others to help us. Softness is strength when we allow our cracks to let the light in. Think about the moments you have felt your strongest, or when you have witnessed strength in others. They are surrounded in softness.
Against our will clarity comes.
We don’t have to fight clarity. Clarity lives inside us. We create clarity through thought and action. We create clarity through listening to our gut and making decisions. We create clarity when we let our still small voice sing. Marie Forleo teaches clarity comes from engagement. When we are scared. We must engage. When we doubt. We must engage. When the mountain looks too steep and the road looks too long. We must engage.
Against our will hearts heal.
No matter how hard we might resist healing, choosing the comfort and routine of anger and sadness. Our hearts naturally want to heal. Our hearts want to connect. Our hearts want to express, learn, and grow. Our hearts want to love. It is our lifelong task to allow our hearts to heal.
https://kitt.global/june-13-against-our-will-mark-nepo-the-book-of-awakening/
About Katie
From Louisville. Live in Atlanta. Curious by nature. Researcher by education. Writer by practice. Grateful heart by desire.
Buy the Book!
The Stage Is On Fire, a memoir about hope and change, reasons for voyaging, and dreams burning down can be purchased on Amazon.
