Daily Nourishment for June 4, 2024: Things Passed Down with Quotes and Guidance from Joy Harjo
Daily Nourishment Read Time: 40 seconds
Pause/Prompt/Practice Time: 15 minutes
“I carried a sack of dreams from a starlit dwelling” - Joy Harjo
Pause.
Do two rounds of 4/7/8 breathing. Inhale for a count of four, hold your breath for a count of seven, and exhale for a count of eight. Then read “Granddaughters” by Joy Harjo.
Prompt.
Read this quote by Joy Harjo:
“When my mother passed, I inherited an iron cooking pot brought over on the Trail that belonged to her mother’s mother. Some of the most important stories are not in words, or in poems or other forms of speaking, but in objects of use and beauty. This cooking pot is one of the most potent stories I carry, made at the end of the century before last, one of many such pots used by Native people east of the Mississippi. The one that was passed through generations of women came to me from my mother. It tells of survival, of the labors of women who cooked, cleaned, and uplifted everyone with stories and songs. The pot is sitting at my feet while I am writing.” - Joy Harjo
Practice.
Set a timer for seven minutes and take notes in response to the quote and poem above and the questions below.
—Which meaningful objects can you see right now?
—Which objects hold some of your cherished stories?
—What has been passed down to you?
—What will you pass down to others?
—Which objects intersect with your writing practice and creativity?
Want More?
Read “More Pieces of Us”: A Quilt, Mental Illness, and Things Passed Down by Charlotte Donlon (An essay originally published at Catapult, which no longer publishes online essays.)
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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.
*Please help us protect our intellectual property, our creative process, and the integrity of our work. Spiritual Direction for Writers® Daily Nourishment is covered under the Spiritual Direction for Writers® trademark. You are welcome to share this link with others, but any other use (written or spoken) is prohibited without written permission from Charlotte Donlon.