
Photo: Jennifer Bloom, Los Angeles, CA
The first time we spoke, he was in a taxi on the way home from the airport.
Should we talk another time? I asked, not wanting to impose
on what I imagined was the end of a long day of travel.
No ma’am, he replied. Life is in session. And now is the perfect time to talk.
Life is in session? I wondered out loud.
It turned out that Jacundo and I shared a common thread of being super-intentional about language.
I was tired of saying “I’m busy” all the time, he told me,
so I invented something new.
I agreed about the busy part. These days,
it seems like there is always something
I could, should, or might want to do.
Saying “I’m busy” makes me feel
rushed, limited, out of touch
with what really matters to me.
“I’m busy” closes a door on the possibility of an unexpected conversation,
it blocks the thread of a new poem that wants to emerge
distracts me from remembering to look at the sky.
I wanted to try this new story on for size.
You see:
“I’m busy” is one story. “Life is in session” is another.
and the story I tell myself (no matter how small)
impacts my outlook and experiences.
Life is in session reminds me that who I am
is more than the events on my calendar,
the outcomes I produce, or the boxes
I check on a list that continues to grow.
Life is in session wakes up that part of me—
the part of me that recognizes that my existence
is deeply woven into the fabric of this experience we call Life,
the part of me that trusts that slowing down a bit for a moment
of connection can only enhance everything else I am here to do.
Upcoming:
Cove Bells - A Winter Solstice Tradition
Wednesday, December 18, 6:30-8pm
Seton Cove, 3708 Crawford Street, Austin 78731
Learn more and register here.
Frontera Fest Long Fringe Theater Festival
January 2020
Ground Floor Theatre, Austin, TX
Show dates and times to follow.
Brainstorms Audiobook
Coming soon!
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