Writer. Feminist. Historian. Person.
Dark seeps through the rift.
The creator of days persists
Still, the shadows grow.
Not feeling particularly hopeful or cheery tonight, but thanks for the inspiration go to Putting My Feet in the Dirt and Sue’s #WritePhoto Prompt
Check out their sites for other great writing.
And as an FYI, the super gloomy shadow shot is mine.
Between the sell/buy/move chaos and my current haiku obsession I’ve neglected to share links for some of the stuff I’ve been doing for my day-job. I may go back to some prior months in the days to come, but for today I’m going to stick to this month’s work, which (somewhat ironically) means I’m stepping back in time! I love it when I get to mix my passion for history with my magazine writing.
So … in honor of Women’s History Month I give you a couple of things I wrote that offer some tiny pieces of the grand female mosaic.
First, I take a closer look at one woman that made a BIG difference. Click here to read about Katherine Bell Tippetts
Then I widen my view a bit to look at some of the ways reforming women changed St Petersburg in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They may look genteel but they refused to be ignored! And remember, although this story about women as a powerful force for change may be specifically about St. Petersburg, it echoes the kinds of things women were doing all across the nation.
Photo: Women’s Town Improvement Association (WTIA) event c. 1910. Courtesy of the St. Petersburg Museum of History.
a new day begins ~
unfurling a path to choose ~
hero or coward ~
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Every day we make a million little choices that define who we are. Those choices built on each other and create a picture of “self.” It’s tempting to assume at some point that our picture is done. We confidently or defiantly (or sometimes with shame) declare “what you see is what you get” or as Popeye would say “I am what I am.” Or is it “I yam what I yam”?
Of course some things can’t be changed or even be easily altered, but that doesn’t mean your picture of self is finished. Every day offers us an opportunity to make a change. It may be so tiny that no one notices or so big that the world takes notice. Not everyone will like it. Not everyone who likes it will agree on its merits. Some people will care too much. And some people won’t care at all. And some people will think you don’t have the right to make the change at all. But regardless what other people think or say, your choice means that your self-portrait will be different from yesterday. To me, that idea is daunting but ultimately wonderful. In a world where so many things are beyond my scope of immediate power, it is empowering to believe I CAN change my self-portrait.
To KNOW that my choices can change MY PATH!
With that sense of Wonder Woman like empowerment I should be making great strides towards a better me. And that better me should be on the forefront of the resistance kickin’ ass! Right? And in my perfect world, every morning I would think about my choices. What do I want the world to see when they view my portrait? What do I want to see? What path am I choosing today? How will I make a better world today? But, of course, it’s not a perfect world. And I’m terrible at self-reflection! And the path towards a better world gets cluttered with Twitter rants and despair. And. And. And…
Some days, choosing to be kind to myself and others is the best I can do. (And really isn’t that the very least we can do for ourselves and humanity!)
So today, I’ll try to practice what I preach.
Tomorrow I plan on looking for a golden lasso or maybe a pair of cuffs!
Just a reminder that Stalin (as well as some other really really horrible people) was fond of using the phrase vrog naroda or “enemy of the people/nation” to describe anyone who didn’t agree with him. Those people often ended up dead or in labor/prison camps. Let’ s hope we’re on a better road than that.
In the meantime, I offer my gratitude to journalists for all the vital work they do.
I also wrote a tanka. It’ s not my best work, but it’s from the heart 😉
Ode to the Dense Speculations & Fools
Dense Speculations
Nurture the Lie of Fake News
And Starve the Free Press
And Too Soon, Fools We Become
If We Lack Will to Resist
My opinions are mine alone but I do want to add my Writing Prompts thanks to Ronavan Writes and Putting my Feet in the Dirt
Original cartoon image courtesy of Star Tribune & Steve Sack
Writing Prompt “Antics of an Arsonist” thanks to Putting My Feet in the Dirt
Tina Stewart Brakebill 