Prompt for a writing exercise: What is the nicest thing that anybody has ever done to you? What is the nicest thing anybody has ever said or written to you?
Read moreBeing a Refugee: March 2022 Prompt
When I was younger, a standard exercise at retreats or conferences was to ask “What three things would you take with you to a deserted island?” On the news, we see entire families fleeing Ukraine. They have small rolling luggage, backpacks, and heavy coats with the pockets stuffed…
Read more"Today you will say things...." April 2021 Prompt
This day will never…happen again.
Today you will do things you can predict and other things you could never imagine this minute. Don't reject them. Don't think you can plan your day all out.
This day will never, no matter how long you live, happen again.
———inspired by Naomi Shihab Nye's quotation: "Today you will say things...."
What will be easy for me today or tomorrow?
What is hard for me?
What's hard for me today especially?
(Write for 5 to 30 minutes, the first sentences or phrases that come into your mind. This is not a formal essay.)
Cherished: June 2019 Prompt
I just need this one thing…
Think of three cherished things you would grab in case of a fire.
(You don't have a pet or small toddler or baby,)
Write about one cherished item.
Why is it special? Is there a story behind it?
Cracked Pot: December 2018 Prompt
Window of Understanding
I was dusting the fronts of my bookcase shelves when I accidentally knocked off the pot made by the head of the art department where I went to college so many years ago. A piece of the flared lip broke off. I could have glued it back carefully. I don’t know what came over me, but I threw the pot on the floor and it smashed into triangles and shards. The “Window of Understanding” on the pot, as he called the blue square outlined on the grey clay, was now in three pieces.
I remember what he said when he gave it to me. He whispered…..