Daily Nourishment for June 10, 2024: Sweet Thing, There She Was with Quotes and Guidance from Toni Morrison
Daily Nourishment Read Time: 40 seconds
Pause/Prompt/Practice Time: 15 minutes
“But this is all any of us have…” - Toni Morrison
Pause.
Take six deep breaths with a six-count inhale and a six-count exhale.
Then do two or three rounds of a breath prayer using the words below from Toni Morrison’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech.
Inhale: We die.
Exhale: That may be the meaning of life.
Inhale: But we do language.
Exhale: That may be the measure of our lives.
Prompt.
Read this quote by Toni Morrison:
“I have an ideal writing routine that I’ve never experienced, which is to have, say, nine uninterrupted days when I wouldn’t have to leave the house or take phone calls. And to have the space—a space where I have huge tables. I end up with this much space [she indicates a small square spot on her desk] everywhere I am, and I can’t beat my way out of it. I am reminded of that tiny desk that Emily Dickinson wrote on and I chuckle when I think, Sweet thing, there she was. But that is all any of us have: just this small space and no matter what the filing system or how often you clear it out—life, documents, letters, requests, invitations, invoices just keep going back in. I am not able to write regularly. I have never been able to do that—mostly because I have always had a nine-to-five job. I had to write either in between those hours, hurriedly, or spend a lot of weekend and predawn time. . . .
I’ve tried to overcome not having orderly spaces by substituting compulsion for discipline, so that when something is urgently there, urgently seen or understood, or the metaphor was powerful enough, then I would move everything aside and write for sustained periods of time.”
–from a 1993 interview with Elissa Schappell in The Paris Review
Practice.
Set a timer for eight minutes and sit down in a space that’s good for writing and write something. Anything. A letter, a to-do list, a complaint, or begin a new essay, story, or poem. What’s urgent? If there’s nothing urgently there, pretend something is.
Want More?
Toni Morrison, Remembered by Writers
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Upcoming Workshops & Gatherings
—The June Co-Writing Schedule is live.
—Become a Member by June 15, Get Co-Writing Free through July 31
If you want to write more and nourish yourself so you can have the writing life you want while enjoying the summer months, the Spiritual Direction for Writers Membership is a great support and resource. Anyone who becomes a new Spiritual Direction for Writers Member between now and June 15th will receive FREE unlimited SDW Co-Writing Sessions through the end of July. (Even if you cancel your membership after June.)
*All existing SDW Members will receive free unlimited SDW Co-Writing Sessions through the end of July. Members who already have a year of Co-Writing will receive a bonus 30-minute checkin 1:1 Spiritual Direction session during June or July.
—A Gift for All New SDW Members
I have several copies of 1000 Words: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round by Jami Attenberg for my Thoughtful Books Etc. bookshop because this book is fantastic. All new SDW Members who join between now and June 15th will receive a copy of this book in addition to everything above. (This book offer is only available for residents of the contiguous US.)
Today’s Daily Nourishment was provided by Charlotte Donlon.
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