Volume XI, Issue 22
June 1, 2022
Dear ,
My, what a wonderful time I had on my road trip with my friend Nora this past week! Here's a shot of us by the South Fork of the Shoshone River (and snow-capped mountains!) near her home in Cody, Wyoming.
And here I am in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota (only three more states to go to reach more goal of visiting all fifty!), in front of the "Little Mo" (Little Missouri) River.
It would have been a perfect trip, and I'd be telling you a lot more about it, if not for the concurrent news of the Buffalo shooting, followed by the news of the gun massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook.
And still, many of our nation's elected officials insist that we need more guns in this country, not less, despite that, as I learned from today's featured writing, episode 99 of Glennon Doyle's podcast "We Can Do Hard Things," How We’ll Save Our Kids From the Gun Lobby’s Greed with Shannon Watts:
The gun lobby has been telling us for decades now that more guns, and Amanda, as you said, there are about 400 million in this country, tens of millions which were sold during COVID, that more guns and fewer gun laws would make us safer. If that were true, we would be the safest nation in the entire world.
Instead, we have a 26 times higher gun homicide rate than any peer nation, and a much higher gun suicide rate as well. The data shows us that what the problem is in this country, in addition to systemic racism, is easy access to guns.
(Warning: there's a strong four-letter word in the podcast, so if that's not for you, you might want to just read the transcript instead.)
Watts is founder of Moms Demand Action, the largest ever grassroots counter movement to the gun lobby, and the author of Fight Like a Mother: How a Grassroots Movement
Took on the Gun Lobby and Why Women Will Change the World. And listening to her on "We Can Do Hard Things" taught me a few new things about hope. In fact, it gave a deeper meaning to the rainbow that welcomed Nora and me to North Dakota.
This podcast lifted me from feeling hopeless into feeling galvanized. And it offers a tiny first "next hard thing" to step forward for those who want to be part of the change. Because, to quote "How to Save Our Kids . . . ", "It took a hundred-year long fight for women to secure
the right to vote. It took a hundred-year long fight after the Civil War to end legalized racial segregation. A hundred years. What would’ve happened if on year 10, folks had decided that hope was a feeling instead of a discipline?"
Here's to hope as a discipline.
Love and light,
Upcoming
WordPlay
THE GIFT OF MEMOIR
(Writing the Stories of Our Lives that Matter Most)
Our stories are a precious legacy. Writing them is a gift, not only to ourselves, but to those who love us—they’ll be treasured for generations to come. Come learn techniques to retrieve and record your life stories of adventure,
love, loss, success, and more.
Come learn a number of fun, easy approaches to your memoir writing endeavors. Workshop being held virtually via Zoom.
COST: FREE!
(Thanks to the Reynolda Manor Branch Library
of Winston-Salem)
WHERE: Wherever you are, on Zoom.
WHEN: Saturday, June 25th from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
TO REGISTER: Email Staci, one of my favorite librarians, at [email protected] to say you'd like to come and
she'll send you a link.
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THE HEALING POWER OF WORDS
(Writing as Renewal/Creating New Writing/
Tools for a Writing Life)
What benefits can writing provide – physically, mentally, spiritually? Are some ways of writing more healing than others? And can we create quality literary work as we heal? In this workshop that incorporates Dr. James Pennebaker’s ground-breaking ideas, we’ll discuss and implement ways to use writing as a transformational tool.
And, if you’re looking, you’ll find the genesis of new poetry, creative non-fiction, and/or fiction. Warning: Laughter likely. Inspiration guaranteed. Read more about this program here.
COST: FREE!
WHERE: 7015 Carnegie Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28211
non-fiction, and/or fiction. Phone: (704) 416-5400
Get Directions.
WHEN: Thursday, June 23rd from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
More WordPlay opportunities here.
Featured Writing
a conversation with
Shannon Watts, author
of
Episode 99 of the podcast
We Can Do Hard Things:
May 26, 2022
Amanda Doyle:
Hello, family. This is Amanda. We are speaking at a very tender moment. This is too much. It’s too much heartbreak, too much rage, too much unspeakable tragedy, too much, especially as we grieve and rage and vow never again, only to endure it again and again and again. We don’t know what to say to ourselves because
“Never again” feels like a lie. We don’t know what to say to our kids because promising they’ll be safe at school today feels like a lie. We feel ashamed that part of us is numb to the horror that 10 years ago felt unfathomable. I want you to know that this feels like too much for our hearts and minds because it is. It insults our souls and shuts down our heads and hearts because we were never made to live like this and die like this.
I’m asking you to please stay here with us. Because your soul rages against this, you may be tempted to turn this off and not listen to this conversation. We understand if you must, but we also understand that your soul rages against this because you know better and you deserve better. And if we are ever going to
have better, it will be because we listen to the raging of our souls. It feels like if there was not a solve. After Sandy Hook 10 years ago, or Parkland four years ago, there isn’t ever going to be change. But the moral arc of the universe is long, too f****** long, and it bends only when forced to by the strength of our raging souls.
It took a hundred-year long fight for women to secure the right to vote. It took a hundred-year long fight after the Civil War to end legalized racial segregation. A hundred years. What would’ve happened if on year 10, folks had decided that hope was a feeling instead of a discipline? Hopelessness is not hard.
Hopelessness is a resignation, a luxury folks might have if their children were not being sacrificed on the altar of profits and power. Hopelessness is not a way of people who do hard things. Hope can do hard things. We must listen to our souls, dig deep, commit to the discipline of hope, and take our place in the struggle for ourselves and our children. . . .
Shannon Watts:
I feel like in times of tragedy, very uniquely American tragedy, that sometimes the reaction is hopelessness or cynicism. It can’t be. Allow yourself to grieve, allow yourself to be distraught, allow self-care, but none of us can sit on the sidelines anymore. If you are part of the 50% of this country that hasn’t
experienced gun violence, God bless you, it is coming to your community. It is coming to your community. Find a piece of this work that you are passionate about. Whether it’s legislative work, electoral work, cultural work, it all matters, it all adds up, it all saves lives. Do it. We are asking everyone to text the word act to 64433, and we will plug you in where you live and help you fight back against these lawmakers who do not care if your kids
are killed.
Amanda Doyle:
I think it’s really important what you say about this not being something where we all just need to assess whether we have the appropriate amount of hope, or assess whether we believe or have faith that it’s going to get better. And you present it in a way that isn’t about hope at all. It’s about an expectation,
you say, that all Americans should have, that lawmakers pass laws based on data, integrity, and a commitment to uphold their sworn duty to protect constituents. You don’t have to decide whether you have hope that this is going to get better. You have to decide whether you deserve to have the expectation that your lawmakers are going to put the lives of you and your family before their own hold-on power. . . .
WordPlay Now! Writing Prompt
This is WordPlay—so why not revel in the power and potential of one good word after another? This week,
it's "hope."
PROMPT:
Write about hopelessness. If we are to move forward, it's necessary to acknowledge the pain of our despair. And then, write about hope.
MAUREEN RYAN GRIFFIN, an award-winning poetry and nonfiction writer, is the author of Spinning Words into Gold, a Hands-On Guide to the Craft of Writing, two grief, healing, and gratitude workbooks entitled How Do I Say Goodbye? and Praying You Goodbye, and three
collections of poetry, Ten Thousand Cicadas Can't Be Wrong, This Scatter of Blossoms and When the Leaves Are in the Water. She believes, as author Julia Cameron says, "We are meant to midwife dreams for one another."
Maureen also believes that serious "word work" requires serious WordPlay, as play is how we humans best learn—and perform. What she loves best is witnessing all the other dreams that come true for her clients along the way. Language, when used with intentionality and focus, is, after all, serious fuel for joy. Here's to yours!
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