It’s been 17 days since I wrote to you, so as a way of catching up, I thought I’d share some photos to let you know what I’ve been doing and what I’ve learned about creating success in our work, love and life.
Because who doesn’t like a good listicle?
Tip 1. Take time off.
After the intensity of the Beaver Girl book tour in the Pacific Northwest, my wife and I spent a few lovely days on Orcas Island off the coast of Washington State. It was our first real vacation in a couple of years. We really needed it.
When’s the last time you took time off?
Tip 2. Hug your dog.
Okay, not everyone has a dog. But in my experience, having a being that you care for - cat, rabbit, iguana, rat, the birds in your neighborhood - will enrich your writing and your life. This is because it takes us out of the solipsism inherent in much of our deeply intellectual work.
What more-than-human-being do you care for?
Tip 3. Reach up (and down).
This is a photo of me with my granddaughter and my daughter’s boyfriend. Our family loves diversity. It makes me smile to see the height differences.
But it also makes me reflect on the fact that as writers, we need to connect with those “above” us to learn from them as mentors, as well as reaching “down” to those who are following in our footsteps.
Are you reaching out?
Tip 4. Plant something.
Soon after arriving home, I planted these morning glory seeds that I’d been given by my poet friend, Kai Coggin, when I ordered her new book, Mother of Other Kingdoms. Each day as they sprout and grow, I am reminded that the roots of our work are watered by connection and care.
What desire for connection is sprouting in you?
Tip 5. Move.
As writers, we can give in to the tendency to tend to our minds and hearts and souls and neglect our bodies. My years with long Covid taught me many lessons about this. If you’re in pain, if you lack energy, if your mind is foggy, you can’t write or work as well as you might want.
Have you moved your body recently?
Tip 6. Begin again.
A few days after returning from the book tour and vacation, I read from Beaver Girl at the Ag + Art Tour for Richland County’s community farm, The Living Wright Foundation, dedicated to growing and sharing fresh produce with people affected by food insecurity. The experience was a lovely way to connect with the local community and listen to the stories of those who, like the characters in the novel, are “beginning again with hope.”
How are you beginning again with hope?
Tip 7. Gather in.
Then, two days after the Ag + Art Tour event, I participated in a panel discussion on the connections between the biodiversity of the Congaree National Park and the diversity of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, which was part of the 6-month series of events surrounding Columbia’s 2024 One Book Project featuring Beaver Girl.
What voices of diversity and biodiversity are you gathering in?
![The panel featured Tameria Warren, Ph.D., SE Rural Community Outreach Organization Board Member and Instructor in the School of Earth, Ocean & Environment at the University of South Carolina; Rhonda Grego, Ph.D., Dean, School of English and Humanities, at Midlands Technical College; Jessica Elfenbein, Ph.D., Chairperson of History at the University of South Carolina; John Kupfer, Ph.D., Professor of Geography at the University of South Carolina. The panel featured Tameria Warren, Ph.D., SE Rural Community Outreach Organization Board Member and Instructor in the School of Earth, Ocean & Environment at the University of South Carolina; Rhonda Grego, Ph.D., Dean, School of English and Humanities, at Midlands Technical College; Jessica Elfenbein, Ph.D., Chairperson of History at the University of South Carolina; John Kupfer, Ph.D., Professor of Geography at the University of South Carolina.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F46227d14-2520-4e2b-9046-f338aa2b394c_3307x2369.jpeg)
Tip 8. Appreciate.
The day after the panel discussion, I let myself move slowly, spending more time outside than I usually do, watering the flowers, watching the birds, and wandering in gratitude for our unusually temperate weather. I was rewarded for my appreciation of the natural world with a visit by this butterfly, who stayed with me for a very long time.
Her name in Latin is Limenitis arthemis astyanax, which means Harbor Goddess, after Artemis, the Greek goddess of wild animals and the wilderness. How cool is that?
Have you taken the time to learn the names and appreciate the beings around you?
9. Celebrate.
Today, my wife and I are celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary. In numerology, 9 is known as number of completion, fulfillment, and transformation. (Think about how a woman is pregnant for nine months and then soon transforms into mother.) I don’t know what transformations this year will hold in work, love, and life for my wife and me, but I do know that we will adhere to Sappho’s advice to be someone who
]
loves
new
How can you celebrate what you love and be new, too?
Thank you for the photos and tips! Welcome Home.