Life Is A Verb: Day 1- "And Why Don't More Of Us Dance In Our Cars"

Background

So, one of my mentors handed me this book about a week ago, entitled "Life Is A Verb" by Patti Digh.

Patti's stepfather was diagnosed with end-stage cancer and passed away 37 days later. 37 days. That's it, so Patti took this concept of if you had 37 days left what would you fill them with? Would you uproot your life and travel with your family, or would you live life as you always have and learn to appreciate the little things? Her reflections resulted in the "6 practices for intentional living" which are: intensity, inclusion, integrity, intimacy, intuition, and intention. She also explains that we tend to make sense of our lives through stories.

The story is then followed by a two challenges, an action challenge and a movement challenge. An action challenge Most action challenges are ten minute focused free write sessions, then you pick a hot word from your free write and spend another three minutes writing about it. Ideally it should be in a journal or you can't see the screen. If you get stuck just write the word "stuck" over and over. Don't stop writing. Say whatever you think- no judgement and no corrections to punctuation or grammar. The movement challenges "are designed to be things you can dip into, come back to later, try out, or practice over time.

Day One

Lost and Found
by David Hollies


The first few times
Being lost was frightening
Stark, pregnant
With the drama of change
Then, I didn’t know
That everywhere is nowhere
Like the feeling when a ocean wave
Boils you in the sand
But as time goes by
Each occurrence of lostness is quieter
Falling from notice
Like the sound of trains
When you live near the tracks
Until one day
When a friend asks
"How often do you get lost?"
And I strain to recall a single instance
It was then that I realized
Being lost only has meaning
When contrasted with
Knowing where you are
A presumption that slipped out of my life
As quietly as smoke up a chimney
For now I live in a less anchored place
Where being lost is irrelevant
For now, only when there is a need
Do I discover where I am
No alarm, no fear
Just an unconscious check-in
Like glancing in the rear-view mirror.

Action Challenge:

First, spend two minutes dancing around to music alone in a room.

What brings me joy: joy to me is found in the little things. I don't care if it's a rising moon or a chance to smell the rain or fresh cut grass. I like the details. Knowing that everything is still working while I freak out about my list of things makes me sane. Joy, pure unbridled joy I find with my friends though. The memories I have of my junior year in highschool are still my favorite. We created something special that year that I don't think can be recreated, but I don't think I'd want it to. Socrates Cafe and late night walks. I love sitting and talking for hours and having a chance to understand someone and learn what they do differently that makes each person unique. If I could have the perfect day I'd spend the morning to myself (ideally in the mountains or at the beach) and chat with a wonderful friend...or stranger (3minutes)

What would this dance look like: Well I'm not really a big dancer, so I imagine it would be more of a slow nodding pattern to the opening chrods and lyrics of some The Academy Is or Taking Back Sunday song and then slowly as the song builds it would become more about singing along and maybe the occasional jump up and down. I don't think it would have to be any one dance, it's whatever feels right at that moment and for that song. I don't know how to describe my joy dance because joy comes in many different things. I don't have just one movement. THis is harder to write about for sure, I think because I like to find joy in a bunch of different thigns, so I can't have just one danve to fit them all. This no correction of your typing os going to bother me. Stuclk Stuck Stuck Stuck Stuck Stuck Stuck TIme

What keeps me from dancing that dance: I like the details and that's where I find a lot of joy, but Ialso think that place can be my downfall. I get weighted down with them and spend too much time on one thing to apprciate it. I can statre at something until it's hard to recognize. I like the details of the unnoticied things, but the bright and crazy objects get my attention first and then I want to fix whatever is right in fron of me and I can get too tired to wanna do too much else afterwards. I needd to find a way to take some mee time, maybe that's this book. Time Time Time Time

Movement Challenge:

When about to speak unkind words- stop. "When words that reflect judgement are on the tip of your tongue pause for three seconds. Reframe those words of judgement into positives"