This is incredibly lovely, A. Your words carry so much power and spirit and you use them with great care and efficiency. You have inspired me since May of 2022 and I am very grateful.
At the start of the semester an artist-teacher asked us to come up with two focus words and I choose inspiration, writing this for that:
INSPIRATION:
1. ETYMOLOGY: In Latin, "inspiratio" is derived from the verb "inspirare," which combines "in" (into) and "spirare" (to breathe). Therefore, "inspirare" literally means "to breathe into" or "to infuse." In Latin, "inspiratio" had various meanings, including the act of breathing in, divine influence or guidance, and the stimulation of thought or creativity.
2. I’ve had a long history of respiratory challenges (asthma, allergies, etc.) and am drawn to an exploration of the breath as it relates to the greater concept of inspiration.
3. I’ve often said that my favorite feeling in the world is inspiration (tied with the word cozy) and I want to delve deeper into what that really means for me. What does it mean when I am inspired? What are my thoughts on inspiring others?
Thank you sharing this Kathryn. I love examining the roots and origins of words and how they may evolve over time and cultures. Your connection to your respiratory system is revelatory and inspiring!
Dec 29, 2023·edited Dec 29, 2023Liked by Kaitlin Curtice
Thanks Kaitlin for your poem today and for this space you have created for us here! Inspiration was my companion/theme word for this year. What a wonderful way to close this year with a poem about it.
Julie, this is a lovely and wonderful poem. “A mystical muse dancing in delight…”. This is a cosmic connecting line, and “ every moment a possibility…”. Thank you for inspiring me with your writing and your spirit!
What a happy surprise to have a bonus day tomorrow with the Winter Poets.
We arrived home safely about 45 minutes ago to paperwhites blooming, a stack of holiday cards, and our youngest son (22) COVID positive, isolated upstairs. It sort of feels like we never left!
A Set of Instructions: with gratitude to Kaitlin and her definitions!
First: fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.
And second, of course, breathe in (air); inhale.
Third, of course, breathe out; exhale.
Fourth, open your eyes. No, I mean, really open your eyes.
Fifth, close your mouth. The spoken word is not for this moment.
Sixth, tune your ears to the sounds all around you.
Seventh, feel the weight of your body on this sturdy earth.
Eighth, open your heart to what the Divine wants you to create.
This is amazing Heidi. True wisdom, and “instructions for the cook” to quote a Buddhist concept. Thank you for sharing your wisdom, and welcome home. I hope your. son recovers quickly and the rest of you all stay healthy.
This is absolutely beautiful, Becca. It reads like a manifesto, a prayer for times, a sacred text. Your integration of nature, our bodies, ordinary life and the events in the world around us are remarkable. You are listening to a higher and an inner call. Thank you for inspiring me!
This is beautiful, Karri. I love your litany of all the things and ways that inspire you, and how will use that the real work. You have inspired me, and I thank you very much!
A fragment
a thread
a glimmer,
a bit of wonder
of hope
of an idea,
can find us
can change us
can inspire us,
from nowhere
from anywhere
from everywhere,
and all at once
we, and the world,
are made new.
I love the simplicity of this poem and the repeating starting words. A rhythmic inspiration.
This is incredibly lovely, A. Your words carry so much power and spirit and you use them with great care and efficiency. You have inspired me since May of 2022 and I am very grateful.
Thank you so much, Larry. You've done the same for me!
Kaitlin, as others have said, your writing and opening up space is inspiring to me. Thank you.
Inspire
A little dose of joy,
hot tea or coffee
computer screen,
quiet rainy northern morning.
I open the magic chamber,
find the word and the wisdom,
and write.
Today it is inspire.
Oh my.
I breathe deeply into my heart
read these winter poets again,
find the inspiration that
rises from the screen like
the steam from my tea.
I am inspired.
I am blessed.
I breathe in light.
I breathe out love.
Breathing in your words, breathing out, "beautiful"
What a sweet response! Thank you!
Your love is always so evident in your words.
Thank you A. You are a blessing.
Inspire is a mantra for me.
Inspire
Pause
Breathe
Delve
Feel
Observe
Notice
Respond
Create
Breathe
Pause
Repeat
Yes,
and don't forget the "repeat" part.
What a beautiful mantra Cheryl!
At the start of the semester an artist-teacher asked us to come up with two focus words and I choose inspiration, writing this for that:
INSPIRATION:
1. ETYMOLOGY: In Latin, "inspiratio" is derived from the verb "inspirare," which combines "in" (into) and "spirare" (to breathe). Therefore, "inspirare" literally means "to breathe into" or "to infuse." In Latin, "inspiratio" had various meanings, including the act of breathing in, divine influence or guidance, and the stimulation of thought or creativity.
2. I’ve had a long history of respiratory challenges (asthma, allergies, etc.) and am drawn to an exploration of the breath as it relates to the greater concept of inspiration.
3. I’ve often said that my favorite feeling in the world is inspiration (tied with the word cozy) and I want to delve deeper into what that really means for me. What does it mean when I am inspired? What are my thoughts on inspiring others?
Thank you sharing this Kathryn. I love examining the roots and origins of words and how they may evolve over time and cultures. Your connection to your respiratory system is revelatory and inspiring!
I find it so interesting to look at the words that we use and how we use them and what else they might really be saying.
Yes!
Thanks Kaitlin for your poem today and for this space you have created for us here! Inspiration was my companion/theme word for this year. What a wonderful way to close this year with a poem about it.
Inspiration has its own timing,
fiery passions seeking expression.
Unanswerable riddles,
unknowable koans,
a mystical muse dancing in delight.
Threaded footsteps within a labyrinth
coax me on, guiding me…
into beguiling magical mysteries.
Wonders upon wonders…
Marvels after marvels…
Simple yet multifaceted…
Every moment a possibility.
Humbled by life’s ongoing imagination.
Inhaling the vitality of this moment,
presence breathing me in every way.
Julie, this is a lovely and wonderful poem. “A mystical muse dancing in delight…”. This is a cosmic connecting line, and “ every moment a possibility…”. Thank you for inspiring me with your writing and your spirit!
What a happy surprise to have a bonus day tomorrow with the Winter Poets.
We arrived home safely about 45 minutes ago to paperwhites blooming, a stack of holiday cards, and our youngest son (22) COVID positive, isolated upstairs. It sort of feels like we never left!
A Set of Instructions: with gratitude to Kaitlin and her definitions!
First: fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.
And second, of course, breathe in (air); inhale.
Third, of course, breathe out; exhale.
Fourth, open your eyes. No, I mean, really open your eyes.
Fifth, close your mouth. The spoken word is not for this moment.
Sixth, tune your ears to the sounds all around you.
Seventh, feel the weight of your body on this sturdy earth.
Eighth, open your heart to what the Divine wants you to create.
Ninth, follow the instructions.
This is amazing Heidi. True wisdom, and “instructions for the cook” to quote a Buddhist concept. Thank you for sharing your wisdom, and welcome home. I hope your. son recovers quickly and the rest of you all stay healthy.
(a late return to a nadia query)
maybe it was all just in my head.
(sometimes it's hard to tell)
but when the shun xing lady realizes that the ten dollar bill
i have laid on the counter for my christmas eve seseme chicken
is a tip,
the usual din of very mean & angry sounding commandments
she is always barking
at her wok-clanging cooks
suddenly just snaps to total silence.
.for hour long seconds.
"happy christmas"
she finally whispers.
Inspiration? god-wink?
The urge to do something.
(Smiling)
A Blessing of Breath
May you be half as inspiring
as the pines, which give of themselves
so you may breathe.
May you be a wind in the world
whose passing lifts a boot
from another's back, half as easily
as the world's wind lifts your hair;
whose current loosens the chokehold
so no one needs beg "I can't breathe."
May you be the steam softening,
the stillness settling, around the man
right now eating his first hot meal
in days, in a church basement.
Or may you learn to quiet the lungs
quaking with panic sobs, or quicken
the lungs deadening with overdose.
Wherever, however you can.
Of all the things to inspire
in this hyper-ventilating world:
fear, love, bravery, disgust,
let it be inspiration itself. Inspire
respiration, aspiration, root of breath.
May your every breath make easier
the breathing of others, one wind
enlivening every body it moves in.
This is absolutely beautiful, Becca. It reads like a manifesto, a prayer for times, a sacred text. Your integration of nature, our bodies, ordinary life and the events in the world around us are remarkable. You are listening to a higher and an inner call. Thank you for inspiring me!
Yes I feel this... simply breathe. I have always felt the answers to many a question, hardships and even moments of grace, are to simply breathe.
"May your every breath make easier the breathing of others" Yes!
This Year
This year I want to allow the winter
With its bare branches and gray landscape,
With its frosty mornings and oh so ever remote chances of snow (here in the south),
To inspire me.
This year I want to allow the people
With their thoughts and feelings and ideas,
With their hopes and dreams of a better tomorrow,
To inspire me.
This year I want to allow the music
With its lyrics, melodies, and harmonies,
With the feelings it invokes,
To inspire me.
This year I want to allow the books
With their paragraphs and chapters,
With their knowledge and their information,
To inspire me.
And once inspired, I want to be motivated
To observe, to speak, to listen, to understand, to sing, to play, to read, to write, and to live in such a way as I too might inspire others.
-Karri Temple Brackett
December 29, 2023
This is beautiful, Karri. I love your litany of all the things and ways that inspire you, and how will use that the real work. You have inspired me, and I thank you very much!
......we are never ready.......🙂