Respecting Creativity Plus New Writing & Yoga Retreat!
Dear Friends,
Creativity is baked into our DNA. Life, literally, is a creative act. If you are human, you are by your very nature a creative being. None of us got to this moment in our lives without immense courage, creativity and fortitude.
Which is why my feathers get ruffled when people disavow their creativity. Who are they comparing themselves to? Michelangelo? Joni? We could all hang it up right there.
Comparison is not creativity’s friend. I write memoir, but I don’t compare myself to other writers. I do, however, find inspiration in them. I’m currently reading Javier Zamora’s beautiful “Solito,” in which he describes the harrowing journey from El Salvador to “La USA” that he undertook when he was nine to reunite with his parents. He describes a dangerous, literally nauseating escape by boat: “The sides of my stomach are an empty plastic pouch of mayo, a used paper plate with food smudged on it, a dirty window.” With these words he brings me into his experience in a way that “I felt sick to my stomach” wouldn’t.
When I read a sentence like this, I don’t think, “I’ll never write like that”—I think, “Wow, how did he do that?”
I used to think Art needed to be Important. Maybe sometimes, but more often it isn’t. Important? To who? All of us bring our creative energies to this giant human soup, and we are richer for it. Sharing yourself with the world in this way is a generous act—for yourself and for others. Your people find you. More important, you just might find yourself.
So I am cheering you on! Express your creativity in the world however you damn well choose. Plant some flowers! Swing your hips! Cook a pot of soup! Write a poem! Take pictures! Sing a mumble-grumble song, as Shel Silverstein writes in his poem below! You are worthy!
While my next round of writing circles are sold-out, I will be offering new rounds in September. Early registration opens in August. And I hope you will consider joining my upcoming half day retreat, “Nurturing Resilience,” a Women’s Writing and Yoga Retreat coming up on Sunday, April 27th, at Zannah Organic Flower Farm in Santa Rosa! I will be co-teaching with my dear friend Chrisandra, whom I met twenty years ago at Yoga Journal. It’s gonna be a great day! More info below.
Love,
Dayna
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RETREAT!
Come join our Women’s Writing and Yoga Retreat, Sunday, April 27th, 10 am to 4 pm, at Zannah Flower Farm in Santa Rosa, where we will and have our souls nourished by nature and each other! I am so happy to co-lead this retreat with my beautiful and wise friend Chrisandra Fox, whom I first met over 20 years ago when she was an in-house yoga teacher for Yoga Journal.
Held at Zannah’s beautiful finished barn, we will write to move our spirits and move to stretch and strengthen our bodies, all in a circle of love and support! We start our day with muffins and homemade chai, then move into our first writing circle of the day. We will eat a yummy vegetarian lunch served al fresco in the garden with ample time to take a walk among the flowers. After lunch, we move into our restorative yoga practice and then our last writing circle of the day. Rumor has it our closing circle involves chocolate. Our intention is that we experience deep rest, a lot of laughter and joy! We would love to have you join us!
Retreat cost: $250. Email dayna@daynamacy.com to register!
Poem:
by Shel Silverstein
Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-grumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
'Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain't been there before.
[True story: In the mid 1980’s, I met Shel Silverstein at a cafe in Greenwich Village. He asked me to go back to his apartment. I declined. We went antique shopping instead. DM]