Autumn for falling, gliding, moving with W2C

Autumn is replete with skeleton imagery--from the funny, caricatured, glow-in-the-dark bones of a Halloween costume to the ornate and joyous depictions in Dia de Los Muertos alters and festivals.

The light! The fire!

Sometimes, with seasonal shifts, my rheumatoid arthritis flares. RA is not your granny's arthritis, mind you. It begins in youth as an autoimmune disorder and chronic inflammation burns away cartilage. Without cartilaginous padding, bones grind together, grow spurs, become unhinged, knees or wrists or all joints simply stop moving altogether. For years, I thought my fascination with skeletons was rather morbid, but now I realize I identify with them! Since I am always aware of my bones grinding together, I am always reminded of the fact that I am a skeleton. Here is a skeletal college Assembled and pasted into my journal when I was trying to do some writing about a knee surgery I had. I eventually wrote the story--it turned into a longer, fictional piece about an internet date, a surgery, a cast of characters, and more. It was a very purgative experience.

We are all skeletons  of course. Our skeletons hold us up and make dancing, eating, working and all manner of activity possible. W2C is based on the idea that being aware of your body (which includes your head!) can open you up, move you toward to new, creative experiences--in art and in life. 

If autumn is the beginning of a year's ending, which explains the bone imagery, it is also a time for movement and beginnings. It is Fall. And falling is flying, gliding or just, taking a significant step. 

My lovely friend Andrea,

a  craniosacral therapist who works to promote greater flow for bones young and old, with and without illness or disability, always says, 

"Apart from being 'good' or 'bad', a person is having a dynamic experience if things, however subtle, feel like they are moving."  

When you connect to your body, you realize that things are always moving inside you: bones, breath, cells, desires, worries, understanding of concepts. Using words to touch these places in your self can free you up to make other creative shifts in your life--to tell a good story, learn new way to express yourself, or start a new and inspired practice.

Contact W2C this autumn and find out how you can take part in life writing workshops like the ones listed in the sidebar of this site. You can also join a participatory art experience that may involve: making a poem-as-group-sculpture at a local gallery, drinking wine on a sunset roof deck while exploring new ways to start a personal journal, the poetics of water aerobics! Or, sign up for one-on-one energy massage with guided imaginative conversations to help you develop your creative ideas.

On October 26 at the Hillsborough Homegrown festival, an arts event put on by the downtown Tampa Library at John F. Germany Public Library  at 

900 N Ashley Drive, 

Tampa , FL 33602. I'll have a table with my books and flyers and we can chat about your interest in Write To Connect classes and services.