{"id":10529,"date":"2015-06-14T16:56:41","date_gmt":"2015-06-14T20:56:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/?p=10529"},"modified":"2015-06-14T16:56:41","modified_gmt":"2015-06-14T20:56:41","slug":"writing-reflecting-old-new-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/2015\/06\/writing-reflecting-old-new-friends.html","title":{"rendered":"writing, reflecting, old & new friends"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"the<\/a>
the author’s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I just spent the BEST weekend: writing poetry, visiting w\/ one of my most beloved writing communities.
\nThis is one of my very favourite weekends of my writing year. I get to immerse myself in talking about writing. I write; I read; I coach; I laugh & cry & do it all again. All weekend. And yes, it’s absolutely exhausting (I will sleep for HOURS tomorrow!). It’s also soooo enriching, so spiritually replenishing, just wonderful.<\/p>\n

The Abbey at Conception<\/a> is a big part of that. While I’m not a Christian, I have the utmost love & respect for places of sacred conversation. At Conception Abbey? You can almost feel the prayers rising — centuries of prayers float through the air like motes of light. Serenity — even during one of the many spring storms — is tangible: as thick as the Stella d’Oro daylilies spilling from weeded bed after bed.<\/p>\n

In the peaceful embrace of Conception, and the enthusiastic love of friends I’ve been seeing (most of them) for 11 years, I blossom like one of those reliable daylilies. But not for only one day. No, I will carry the afterglow of limerick contests (really) and teasing and sharing and trusting for weeks.<\/p>\n

\"via<\/a>
via google<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Each year I worry it can’t possibly be as magical as I remember. Each year it surpasses my expectations. Some years — like this one — I make new friends I know will last. All years I revisit ones I’ve become closer to each summer.<\/p>\n

Writing communities are rare. Rarer still are ones that have weathered more than a decade. There are women — not only me — who have attended for the past 11 years that I have. That itself is part of the magic: continuity.<\/p>\n

But the real magic, for this beginner’s heart, is the obvious love & respect of every woman (and the few brave men!) for every other writer in this group. From the youngest participant (a 1st year teacher) to the 70-year-old college professor, each is valued. Each is necessary. As are their very different words, poems, stories.<\/p>\n

Here’s to a world like my writing community at the Abbey: loving, trusting, diverse, and strong in the ways of good words.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I just spent the BEST weekend: writing poetry, visiting w\/ one of my most beloved writing communities. This is one of my very favourite weekends of my writing year. I get to immerse myself in talking about writing. I write; I read; I coach; I laugh & cry & do it all again. All weekend.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":398,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[537,661,56,58],"tags":[11,1181,1187,262,1333,1046,1201,1007],"class_list":["post-10529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-beauty","category-community","category-grace","category-writing","tag-beginners-heart","tag-britton-gildersleeve","tag-buddhism","tag-buddhist-blogs","tag-community","tag-conception-abbey","tag-writing","tag-writing-retreats"],"yoast_head":"\nwriting, reflecting, old & new friends - Beginner's Heart<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I just spent the BEST weekend: writing poetry, visiting w\/ one of my most beloved writing communities. 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