Greetings
of the Season!
As I approach 60, I have learned enough to be qualified to give advice so here it is:
As I approach 60, I have learned enough to be qualified to give advice so here it is:
Don’t wait to go after what you
want.
Be determined, endure through the
disappointments, the losses, the rejections. Learn from them, then let them go.
The pruned tree yields more fruit.
Don’t be afraid to be who you are.
Be bold. Don’t wait to speak up until you must. Misunderstandings happen, they
come and go but the courage of your willingness to say what is on your mind will
linger.
Be gentle with all living things. If
the truth might hurt, be kind.
Be sweet with praise. Be generous
with celebration, whenever the chance rolls your way.
Be lit up with gratitude.
Honor the beauty and imperfection of
this world. Practice the art of kintsugi:
a Japanese art form of mending broken ceramic by filling the cracks with gold
lacquer, illuminating the damage and rendering the piece even more beautiful.
Celebrate not only the fire that
lights our souls but the dark nights where we wander, when we stumble into the
arms of a friend, the way we finally see that the light was in us all along.
Dear Friends ,
This
year has brought me the joy of spending time with my grandson Oliver, who loves
books. He has Go, Dog, Go memorized
and he loves to play games such as Candyland. He’s 2 so you can imagine…. I attended my first semi-pro soccer game (July
4th) and listened to my grandsons’ excitement about their soccer, football
and hockey games. All is fine at the Wetzel household and my grandson Jason
(Sam’s son) and his bros seem all to be doing well. A small miracle. And yes, grandma is not
above bribery.
The grant
finished up with teaching at The Wellstone Center, Cornerstone, The Lenox Center,
The Central Library and the Heart Institute at Abbot Northwestern Hospital. I
curated a multi-media art exhibition with: Julian Coffman, metaphorical digital
prints; Ashley Dull, gorgeous oil landscapes of light; Amy Sabrina performing
sacred dance opening night; and Athena Kildegaard and myself displayed poetry as
art and had a poetry reading. We had workshops and a panel with Julian, Amy,
Michael Kiesow Moore and myself, and I learned more about their inspiring paths
to healing through art.
I also took
a part-time job as coordinator of the youth program for children 3- 11 years
old at Unity Christ Church. It has been a joy and a challenge, using creative
ways to explore Unity principles and working with a gifted and wonderful Youth &
Family Ministry Director Nancy Maiello.
She just finished coordinating the Christmas show: omg, laughter and
tears and watching those wee ones on stage. (What exactly was Ryan doing up
there as he marched in circles? Apparently his mom told him he would get
cookies if he stayed on stage for the entire song.)
My Care for
the Care-giver writing group continues at Pathways; my third workshop at
Stillwater prison was on fiction; and I am editing an anthology for Vision Loss
Resources with Pamela Fletcher and Patricia Kirkpatrick as co-editors. What a
joy it has been to work with them! It has been astonishing to read the work
from those who are blind or sight-impaired, their sense of humor, courage to
try new things and resiliency as they learn to navigate in a sight-oriented
world. As for the work in the prisons, it is heart-breaking and powerful, and
we know we are having an impact. One of our students says that now his family
reads poetry to him over the phone. Can you imagine that? What a gift!
What’s
next, you may ask? Senior center, Rush City prison facility and I won a Saint
Louis Park Arts & Culture grant called Treasure Hunt: Where our hearts are, there
is our treasure. I will teach writing workshops and with the guidance
of Chrisma McIntyre, the work will be transformed into art to be exhibited in
various locations. The community editors will finish editing submissions for
the 2015 Saint Paul Almanac and Oliver turns 3.
But the
most exciting news is that I will be traveling to San
Miguel de Allende to the writer’s conference in February. Besides getting to
hear Pat Conroy, Laura Esquivel, Ellen Bass, David Whyte (I am taking his
workshop) and others, I have appointments with two literary agents. I had
decided to put aside my travel- to-Santa-Fe-money this year in order to attend
a writer’s conference, never dreaming it would be in Mexico. I need to put some
effort into getting my prose published and so, wish me luck, send me your good
thoughts for fulfilling my dream of publication and look for good news.
This year
horizons have opened up that I never expected and yet dreamed of: being part of
the circle and getting to know the writers of the MN Prison Writing Workshop; community
editors, advisors, interns, and movers and shakers of Saint Paul Almanac; and connecting
with the TC Daily Planet. We serve the cause of social justice by listening,
amplifying, encouraging the voices of diverse cultures and neighborhoods, the
invisible, the forgotten. I am seeing my idealism of the 60’s finally coming
into fruition and I am able to be part of it. I am following my dream. And many grass roots
organizations here are starting the Revolution by collective action,
storytelling circles, alternative transportation, presses, and art. Yayyyy!!! We SHALL overcome…The torch is
getting passed to the young and what a flame it is!
I am a late
bloomer. The performance poetry was something I began to do when I turned 48!
but I am thankful that the arthritis doesn’t hold me back. Traveling by bus
gets harder, more nights I end up taking Tylenol than I used to, but I am
determined to not let anything hold me back from the satisfaction of living my
heart’s calling.
Bless you.
You have been part of my journey, my healing,
my gold lacquer.
Peace and
joy,
We must sit on the rim of the well
of darkness
and fish for fallen light
with patience. —Pablo Neruda
If you wish to contribute a $ gift
towards the organizations I am part of:
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