27 April 2010: A friend emailed me yesterday. Mr. Lyle Brennen. He is fabulous and teaches Physics. Years ago, in high school he was my favorite teacher. He had, and still has, a way of brilliantly communicating aspects of the seen-but-unseen world. He moves you to love physics. He moves you to want to be a physicist. I can still hear his voice in my head. He made a mark. A good mark. Mr. Brennen tells me he's retiring soon. Who will take his place? No one. No one can take his place, although, of course, they'll hire someone to teach his class. Also, his excellence makes me wonder about teachers these days. And about the state of (mostly public) education. From what I read, the public education system is not in a great place. Well. I know, from the teachers I talk with, (when I go on school visits) that the majority of them are highly competent. And I also I know that they all need our support. Cause it's our kids they're teaching, after all. Another thing: send out a shout to a teacher from your past. And thank them. Yep.
What else is in my book of grace today? The store had 2-for-one toothpaste.
Sometimes it's the little things.
Right On and Pass it on.
xoxox
SLP
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
What's In Your Book of Grace? Here's what's in mine:
I haven't written in several days. My friend lost his job. And then there was the volcano that has left lots of people stranded. I'm realizing that in writing a Book Of Grace I'm opening up the question: what gets included and what is excluded? And, again, what if everything were in the Book of Grace? And/or what if, by putting something in the book of Grace it was made better/ whole/part of the whole. There is an alchemy at work here. And I'm no where near figuring it out. Well. I'll savor the trip. Right on & Pass it on. xoxoSLP
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
In My Book of Grace: April 14
What's in your Book of Grace?
Here's what's in mine:
14 April 2010:
My friend Sama got the results back from her biopsy today.
The results are normal. That's a blessing. And Sama is a mighty saint.
Right on & Pass it on.
xoxo
SLP
Here's what's in mine:
14 April 2010:
My friend Sama got the results back from her biopsy today.
The results are normal. That's a blessing. And Sama is a mighty saint.
Right on & Pass it on.
xoxo
SLP
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
In My Book of Grace: April 13
What's in your Book of Grace?
Here's what's in mine:
13 April 2010:
Our Production Stage Manager, Amy, gave me these seedlings last week. They're coming along.
Right on & Pass it on
x0x0x0
SLP
Monday, April 12, 2010
In My Book of Grace: April 12
What's in your Book of Grace?
Here's what's in mine:
12 April 2010:
Rehmat just helped me set up my blog. He can also dance. It's good to enjoy doing different things. Even if you're just a beginner at something. It's fun to grow what I call "your second tree." The little tree in your garden that grows along side your bigger (main) tree. Good to give your little tree light too. Yeah.
Right on & Pass it on
xoxo
SLP
Here's what's in mine:
12 April 2010:
Rehmat just helped me set up my blog. He can also dance. It's good to enjoy doing different things. Even if you're just a beginner at something. It's fun to grow what I call "your second tree." The little tree in your garden that grows along side your bigger (main) tree. Good to give your little tree light too. Yeah.
Right on & Pass it on
xoxo
SLP
Thursday, April 8, 2010
In My Book of Grace: April 2 - 7
What's in your book of Grace?
Here's what's in mine:
7 April 2010:
The following day in Michigan I did a class visit where students gathered in the auditorium and we did an open Q & A for about 90 minutes. It is hard to describe why these events are so poignant and beautiful. Maybe because the questions are rarely about literature at all, but about life: they’re starting out on their path and want to hear from me cause I'm a little further down the road, or they've been on the path for many years, and want to hear from a fellow traveler. We talked about how it takes more work to fix something than it does to break it. We talked about what keeps us going in difficult times. We talked about how a basic spiritual practice might just be engaging in kindness. I asked them what might be in their books of Grace. A student lept up and showed me her jeans, on which she had the some paint from every show she'd worked on: they're my jeans of grace! she said. They were a truly wonderful group and spending time with them raised my spirits. As I left town sirens went off because a tornado had been spotted. An oldtimer, seeing my concern, smiled wide as he told me, "twisters never touch down here, cause we're between two rivers."
Right on & Pass it on
Oxox
SLP
___________________________________
What's in your book of Grace?
Here's what's in mine:
6 April 2010:
Last night I gave a speech at Michigan State. The students, professors and people from the surrounding community made an awesome audience. My friends Gale and John were in the house. I’ve known them for many years and, while I couldn’t see the audience as I was speaking, I totally knew where G & J were because I could hear their laughter. Good friends are blessings, miracles, really.
Right on & pass it on
oxox
SLP
___________________________________
What's in your book of Grace?
Here's what's in mine:
5 April 201:
-How difficult is it to try something new? How hard is it to get out of your own rut? I'm asking this because it's spring. And the flowers are coming back along with the glorious insects. Early this morning a large bumblebee flew into my apartment. I encouraged him to leave. He didn't. I threatened him with death. I couldn't. So I waited. When the light outside was brighter than the light inside, he was able to re-orient himself and go on his way. As he flew out the window I was, like, so proud of myself. Then I saw the waterbug. You know, those giganormous flying cockroaches. I screamed. Then laughed because the thing had gotten flipped over and all I had to do was wait until its circulatory system failed (this may or may not be true but the only thing I remember from biology class is that some insects will die if they're on their backs for too long). I waited. Then a small still voice said: "do something different." I could hear my inner voice encouraging me to step out of my own rut. So I got a jelly jar, scooped up the enormous scary
beast and helped it out the window. These encounters with insects
were training wheel moments & the next time I feel overwhelmed by fear, maybe I’ll be able to better hear my small still voice.
Right On & Pass it on
xoox
SLP
___________________________________
What's in your book of Grace?
Here's what's in mine:
4 April 2010:
-Easter Sunday. Ruth, the mother-in-law of one of the show’s producers, came about a week ago, when we had a talk back. She says it's interesting how the show touches different people in different ways. How it moves different people to think about different things and what's cool, she says, is how different people can connect with the play in very different ways. How everyone in the audience has their own lens and how the play, too, works as a lens.
-After the Sunday night show, our last show in the run, a woman named Judy said she had realized that, at the end of the play, we are asked to continue and, through living our lives we’ll make up our own ending. That she was moved to ask herself and in her asking knew the
answer: "How does it end? We make it up. We continue to write the book."
Right on and Pass it on.
xoxo
SLP
___________________________________
What's in your book of Grace?
Here's what's in mine:
3 April 2010:
Some friends came to the show today. Folks I've known for many years. Our lives have taken many different turns, some lovely, some less than lovely: That one's latest book, that one's new baby, that one's cancer, that one's divorce. I looked at all of us, gathered
together in the lobby. "This moment is in my book of grace," I told
them. And we all smiled. So what does it mean to put something in
your book of Grace? The character Grace says that she writes down/ gathers "evidence of good things," but when she reads to us from her book we realize that it's not "all good." Do “bad things” have a
place in the book of grace? Do bad people? Is there anything that
does not belong in the book? If so, what and why?
Right on & Pass it on
xoox
SLP
___________________________________
What's in your book of Grace?
Here's what's in mine:
2 April 2010:
Professor Henry Louis Gates came to the show tonight. It was great to have him in the house. Afterwards we went to dinner. We talked about how maybe the show is not optimistic, but realistic. And we talked about the Grace's process of writing/righting. A friend of his had an ipad (before the official release date). As he showed us what it could do, people from other tables gathered around. It was as if the ipad were fire, stolen from the gods. That would make Steve Jobs Prometheus. And that would make one think twice about that Apple logo with the bite taken out of it. :) “Look at how the ipad shows you the periodic table!” Professor Gates’ friend said and we all oooohd and aahhhd.
Right on & Pass it on
xoxo
SLP
Here's what's in mine:
7 April 2010:
The following day in Michigan I did a class visit where students gathered in the auditorium and we did an open Q & A for about 90 minutes. It is hard to describe why these events are so poignant and beautiful. Maybe because the questions are rarely about literature at all, but about life: they’re starting out on their path and want to hear from me cause I'm a little further down the road, or they've been on the path for many years, and want to hear from a fellow traveler. We talked about how it takes more work to fix something than it does to break it. We talked about what keeps us going in difficult times. We talked about how a basic spiritual practice might just be engaging in kindness. I asked them what might be in their books of Grace. A student lept up and showed me her jeans, on which she had the some paint from every show she'd worked on: they're my jeans of grace! she said. They were a truly wonderful group and spending time with them raised my spirits. As I left town sirens went off because a tornado had been spotted. An oldtimer, seeing my concern, smiled wide as he told me, "twisters never touch down here, cause we're between two rivers."
Right on & Pass it on
Oxox
SLP
___________________________________
What's in your book of Grace?
Here's what's in mine:
6 April 2010:
Last night I gave a speech at Michigan State. The students, professors and people from the surrounding community made an awesome audience. My friends Gale and John were in the house. I’ve known them for many years and, while I couldn’t see the audience as I was speaking, I totally knew where G & J were because I could hear their laughter. Good friends are blessings, miracles, really.
Right on & pass it on
oxox
SLP
___________________________________
What's in your book of Grace?
Here's what's in mine:
5 April 201:
-How difficult is it to try something new? How hard is it to get out of your own rut? I'm asking this because it's spring. And the flowers are coming back along with the glorious insects. Early this morning a large bumblebee flew into my apartment. I encouraged him to leave. He didn't. I threatened him with death. I couldn't. So I waited. When the light outside was brighter than the light inside, he was able to re-orient himself and go on his way. As he flew out the window I was, like, so proud of myself. Then I saw the waterbug. You know, those giganormous flying cockroaches. I screamed. Then laughed because the thing had gotten flipped over and all I had to do was wait until its circulatory system failed (this may or may not be true but the only thing I remember from biology class is that some insects will die if they're on their backs for too long). I waited. Then a small still voice said: "do something different." I could hear my inner voice encouraging me to step out of my own rut. So I got a jelly jar, scooped up the enormous scary
beast and helped it out the window. These encounters with insects
were training wheel moments & the next time I feel overwhelmed by fear, maybe I’ll be able to better hear my small still voice.
Right On & Pass it on
xoox
SLP
___________________________________
What's in your book of Grace?
Here's what's in mine:
4 April 2010:
-Easter Sunday. Ruth, the mother-in-law of one of the show’s producers, came about a week ago, when we had a talk back. She says it's interesting how the show touches different people in different ways. How it moves different people to think about different things and what's cool, she says, is how different people can connect with the play in very different ways. How everyone in the audience has their own lens and how the play, too, works as a lens.
-After the Sunday night show, our last show in the run, a woman named Judy said she had realized that, at the end of the play, we are asked to continue and, through living our lives we’ll make up our own ending. That she was moved to ask herself and in her asking knew the
answer: "How does it end? We make it up. We continue to write the book."
Right on and Pass it on.
xoxo
SLP
___________________________________
What's in your book of Grace?
Here's what's in mine:
3 April 2010:
Some friends came to the show today. Folks I've known for many years. Our lives have taken many different turns, some lovely, some less than lovely: That one's latest book, that one's new baby, that one's cancer, that one's divorce. I looked at all of us, gathered
together in the lobby. "This moment is in my book of grace," I told
them. And we all smiled. So what does it mean to put something in
your book of Grace? The character Grace says that she writes down/ gathers "evidence of good things," but when she reads to us from her book we realize that it's not "all good." Do “bad things” have a
place in the book of grace? Do bad people? Is there anything that
does not belong in the book? If so, what and why?
Right on & Pass it on
xoox
SLP
___________________________________
What's in your book of Grace?
Here's what's in mine:
2 April 2010:
Professor Henry Louis Gates came to the show tonight. It was great to have him in the house. Afterwards we went to dinner. We talked about how maybe the show is not optimistic, but realistic. And we talked about the Grace's process of writing/righting. A friend of his had an ipad (before the official release date). As he showed us what it could do, people from other tables gathered around. It was as if the ipad were fire, stolen from the gods. That would make Steve Jobs Prometheus. And that would make one think twice about that Apple logo with the bite taken out of it. :) “Look at how the ipad shows you the periodic table!” Professor Gates’ friend said and we all oooohd and aahhhd.
Right on & Pass it on
xoxo
SLP
Friday, April 2, 2010
In My Book of Grace: April 1
What's in your Book of Grace?
Here's what's in mine:
1 April 2010:
- A woman and her friend came to the show tonight. The woman is
studying at Hunter College. She uses a wheelchair. Her friend
brought her to the show in celebration cause she's doing really well
in school. After the show we hung out in the lobby and talked about
the show and took pictures. Then they went home, via the bus. When
they arrived uptown, Amy, our production stage manager, was getting
off the subway and arriving uptown on the same street at the same
time. Amy spotted the ladies; she recognized them from the audience
and they all stood on the street corner talking about the play.
-Students from Odyssey House came to the show tonight. I met them in
the lobby too. The show had them all jazzed up. They're writing a
play together and wondered how long it takes to write a play and if
takes longer to write all the "layers" in it. I told them it took me
awhile to write this play, but, since they're all working together,
it might not take them as long as it took me.
Truly, we depend on each other.
Right on & Pass it on
xoxoxox
SLP
Here's what's in mine:
1 April 2010:
- A woman and her friend came to the show tonight. The woman is
studying at Hunter College. She uses a wheelchair. Her friend
brought her to the show in celebration cause she's doing really well
in school. After the show we hung out in the lobby and talked about
the show and took pictures. Then they went home, via the bus. When
they arrived uptown, Amy, our production stage manager, was getting
off the subway and arriving uptown on the same street at the same
time. Amy spotted the ladies; she recognized them from the audience
and they all stood on the street corner talking about the play.
-Students from Odyssey House came to the show tonight. I met them in
the lobby too. The show had them all jazzed up. They're writing a
play together and wondered how long it takes to write a play and if
takes longer to write all the "layers" in it. I told them it took me
awhile to write this play, but, since they're all working together,
it might not take them as long as it took me.
Truly, we depend on each other.
Right on & Pass it on
xoxoxox
SLP
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