Getting Lost Isn’t Always a Bad Thing
“Deep in the forest there’s an unexpected clearing that can be reached only by someone who has lost his way.” -Tomas Transtromer
Oh, Brother
Growing apart doesn’t change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side; our roots will always be tangled. I’m glad for that. -Ally Condie, Matched
I found this quote this morning and tucked it into my Christmas letter. Obviously, I was thinking of my kids, but then I remembered the wonderful weekend at Leavenworth in September with my husband’s family. The featured photo is of my dad with his older brothers, circa 1938, but ain’t none of us getting any younger.
So, in the midst of all the holiday bustle, that’s what I want to write about today.
curiouser and curiouser…
I think that “curiouser and curiouser” is a line from Alice in Wonderland. Stephanie Dowrick repeats it in the writing prompt I worked on this morning. Curiosity is a recurring theme in her book, Creative Journal Writing–in my journal a couple of days ago I copied out this line: “You can become curious about a complex situation rather than overwhelmed by it” (15). Now, if I can just remember that, the next time a complex situation pops up. (A friend suggested, “Visualize yourself stepping back.” )
But, curious. When I was a little girl, my mother used to say to me, “Curiosity killed the cat,” which always made me…curious. How did curiosity kill the cat? What was the cat curious about? What about its nine lives? Did curiosity kill the cat all nine times? Or just once? Did it learn its lesson after that? Could we have saved the cat, if we’d been there?
Was my curiosity going to kill me?
It turns out, not. I’m still here. I’m still asking questions.
Also, if anyone would like to give me $2,100 for Christmas, I would like to go to New Zealand next summer and take a weeklong writing workshop with Stephanie. Picture my cheshire cat grin here. 