Hello Dear Ones! As I write this, I have just written my 51st poem draft for the Stafford Challenge. (Only 315 more to go!) So far, this experience has confirmed how much I love process, all the little ways to arrange a life that invite the work of creating something. It fascinates me. And it saddens me that so few of us have the ability to arrange our lives in the service of art — or even in the service of each other. Let’s change that, okay?

Today’s draft is inspired by the cardinal preening on a bare tree.

I needed space:

the soft drapings of my flesh as it thins with age,

the openness of a womb in pause,

the blank neural fingers of late winter trees,

the bare-faced blue sky of a March morning.

Only in this space could one lone cardinal,

heartblood red on a brown branch,

teach me the sound of its voice.

Now Available: Dance Party tickets and Saturday-Only Passes!

The Evanston Conscious Movement Festival

Today I spent a couple of hours creating flyers, Instagram posts, and writing emails. All in the service of this festival. It is amazing how doing work aligned with purpose doesn’t even feel like working sometimes. My life purpose is to love on people until they know how much they are worth. And now, I have a whole weekend where people can love themselves through movement.

This is happening. April 12-14, 2024, in Evanston, Illinois. I have gathered some of the best people I know to offer movement and connection. This will be a weekend to explore, to experience new ways of moving your body, and to bring together people in the community.

And — there’s a dance party! You are all invited.

(P.S. You can follow the festival on Instagram too!)