Ephemera

           

This week's offering consists of a photo, a list of words... do what you want with them! 
There's still space in the Birdland Spring Writers Retreat on April 21. Be sure to sign up before  March 31!

Derived from a Greek word meaning things lasting no more than a day,  ephemera refers to printed and written materials such as postcards, letters, tickets, magazines. Ephemeral ponds last for part of the year; and ephemeral creatures that breed there have a life cycle that completes itself in less than a year. But it’s all relative. How can a postcard endure? How can a prairie be ephemeral? A mountain? The earth?

I took this photo of a closed up store that once sold ephemera in a small town in west central Illinois in 2010. Closed up, all the ephemera moved out, the shop itself was ephemeral. Who knows what it is now?

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Here’s a list of synonyms for ephemeral:

momentary, passing, brief, episodic, evanescent, fleeting, flitting, fugacious, fugitive, impermanent, short, short-lived, temporary, transient, transitory, unenduring, volatile

And some antonyms: enduring, eternal, everlasting, interminable, lasting, long, permanent, perpetual

Exercise: Write about what’s ephemeral in your life. Write about what’s enduring.

Walking with Joy

I happened onto this page today, Walk with Joy. It reminds me of my own meditation about walking the path to Joy.

Walking the Path to Joy

Joy offers a lovely photo every day with suggestions to focus a simple meditation. A link leads to a centering exercise. Touching these tiny moments of clarity each day can help us find our balance.

Weekly Prompts and Quotations

Mary and Karen have agreed to share some weekly goodies on the Two Birds Blog in the form of writing prompts and inspirational quotations.  We're taking turns doing it. We'd love to hear comments and responses.

This week's prompt is in the form of a photograph and a list of synonyms for the verb "to nest."
Here are three options for this prompt:

1.Choose one or two words  (or many) from the list and add  or shape to make a poem in the form of a nest.
2. Freewrite: where do you nest, park or perch? Where do you settle, sojourn, or squat?
3. Do any other kind of writing this photo and list lead you to do.

abide, bide, bunk, continue, crash, establish oneself, exist, flop, hang one's hat, hang out, hole up, inhabit, keep house, locate, lodge, make one's home, nest , occupy, park, perch, pitch tent, quarter, remain, rent, reside, rest, room, roost, settle, sojourn, squat, stay, stop, tarry, tenant, tent

Winter Writing Retreat

 Ten writers gathered, along with Mary and  me (Karen), at the Birdland Writers' Retreat on January 14.

Some were old friends, and some new to me.  The space at the Steeple Gallery, the old St. Philomena's church in downtown Monticello, seemed just right for such a day. The high ceiling, the altar alcove made coffeebar, and the light from the stained glass window made it a perfect spot for friends to meet, drink coffee or tea, talk, write.  Spacious room, spacious ideas. I hope everyone enjoyed the day as much as I did. (Reminder for next time: bring a sweater!)

I was energized and moved by the stories I heard, but I realized we'd only seen the seeds of something that needs germination, and so I'm looking forward to (and full of ideas for) a spring followup. Well, I"m just looking forward to spring, anyway. I hope others felt as I did that we'd touched something in ourselves with great potential: this creative spirit.

THE STEEPLE GALLERY COFFEEHOUSE

We met at the Steeple Coffeehouse and Gallery to check out the space for the Birdland Writing Retreat on January 14. It was once a Catholic church, built in 1906. The altar space is now the kitchen, and the winter light is glowing through the stained glass windows. It will be a great place to meet and write deep in January.

There's still space for aspiring writers! See the registration link to the right, and sign up before December 20 for a $10 savings.

A WORKING LUNCH