COLLECTIVE BREATH – Episode: 29
Week of Sunday, January 24th, 2021
Number of people attending Facebook (personal portion):
Number of people attending Zoom Meet (group portion):
Introduction:
Congratulations to Amanda Gorman who gave the nation a collective breath of fresh air last Wednesday at the Inauguration with her poem ‘The Hill We Climb’. I was one of many people listening attentively to every word.
“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”
— Ernest Hemingway
A transcript of this segment and each subsequent session will be posted (for anyone interested) at http://www.sidewayseight.co which is my main outlet for personal poetry and photography: Sideways Eight Projects.
“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one…just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”
— F. Scott Fitzgerald
Hello fantastic people! My name is Jesse James Ziegler. I am the current Poet in Residence for the Bruka Theatre of the Sierra in Reno, Nevada. I am an active poet, special event MC, principle photographer, special event series host, and now weekly wellness writing workshop host in collaboration with Spoken Views Collective of which I am also a Board Member.
“The heart of another is a dark forest, always, no matter how close it has been to one’s own.”
— Willa Cather
This Weeks Writing Prompt:
This week’s Prompt : Write about two people who just can’t seem to understand each other, no matter how clearly they think they’re speaking. A lack of understanding
Understanding becomes a question of intention. Are you trying to understand to relate? to appreciate? to erase hate? to manipulate? to Make America Great? Oh wait,
we can’t eradicate everything on the plate and not realize why we’re still hungry.
I want for this podcast style personal portion to contain information about famous writers and their quotes as well as, futuristically speaking, local guests to this program who help everyone involved gain a diversity of perspective and positively impact our individual process.
Quote(s) of the Week:(3)
“We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.”
— Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison
“Lack of understanding of the true nature of happiness, it seems to me, is the principal reason why people inflict sufferings on others. They think either that the other’s pain may somehow be a cause of happiness for themselves or that their own happiness is more important, regardless of what pain it may cause. But this is shortsighted. No one truly benefits from causing harm to another sentient being. . . . . In the long run causing others misery and infringing their rights to peace and happiness result in anxiety, fear, and suspicion within oneself.”
— Dalai Lama
“Perhaps the most important thing we bring to another person is the silence in us, not the sort of silence that is filled with unspoken criticism or hard withdrawal. The sort of silence that is a place of refuge, of rest, of acceptance of someone as they are. We are all hungry for this other silence. It is hard to find. In its presence we can remember something beyond the moment, a strength on which to build a life. Silence is a place of great power and healing.”
— Rachel Naomi Remen
I’m hoping this sharing and vulnerability I’m demonstrating will encourage others who love creative writing as well to open up, by sharing from their innermost, related to the topic provided. I’m hoping we all gain perspective, compassion, hope, and discipline through such organized sharing.
Piece or Pieces of the Week: (4)
Raining in the Bedroom
Bite
When Bernie Memes Saved the Country
An Actual Conversation
For further personal reading
Political Orientations Are Correlated with Brain Structure in Young Adults
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3092984/
Conservative and Liberal Brains Might Have Some Real Differences
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/conservative-and-liberal-brains-might-have-some-real-differences/
Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking, 12th edition
https://www.pearson.com/store/p/asking-the-right-questions-a-guide-to-critical-thinking/P100001425252/9780134425665?creative=489250547975&keyword=&matchtype=&network=g&device=m&gclid=CjwKCAiA6aSABhApEiwA6Cbm_whG8j6Dq6tsda9pRepU0YlQnWS_wGNn0DZTnUc2Qxey6vNQNcey4xoCYPsQAvD_BwE
Next Week’s Writing Prompt:
Which will also be posted across Collective Breath and Bruka Theatre’s social media platforms: Write about the singular word ‘promises’
Closing Sentiments and an Invitation
That’s it for my personal portion. If this is where you get off this train of thought, because you checked in to listen, thank you for tuning in and absorbing. I appreciate your time and consideration. If you are here for the Weekly Wellness Writing Workshop group portion via Zoom Meeting, please transition to that application now using the link provided in the details/description section of the ‘Collective Breath’ Bruka Theatre Facebook Event Page. The link is also in the bio section of the Collective Breath Facebook page @biggestlittlecollectivebreath
“I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.”
— Abraham Lincoln
Keep writing. Keep your heart open and your mind aware. Keep coming back for more. Keep going. Keep giving. Keep doing. Keep daring to believe in a better way of living. Keep loving and creating. Keep each other safe and sound. Keep it real, and keep the faith. I love you. Goodbye for now.
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