Anne Faye

Day 5 of the Loyola Writing Retreat was about Writing to Savor . As I write this, I am grasping a few moments of precious solitude in the cafe area of my local grocery store, indulging in a Coke Zero and a pumpkin muffin. I haven't done this in such a long time, it is a moment to savor all by itself. But my moment of choice is actually from early this morning. The sun was coming up over the horizon and was hitting a tree in the backyard in just the right way so that the leaves were illuminated, the early morning dew glistening on each one. Meanwhile, there was a flock of birds, tweeting furiously, that chose that moment to descend upon the yard in search of breakfast. Some landed in the trees, while others picked the ground in eager anticipation of whatever tasty morsel they might find there. I watched for a minute, before the duties and chaos of the day called me away, but it was a grace-filled moment of beauty and peace.

Today's task on the Loyola Press Writing Retreat was Writing to Dream The assignment I took on was to imagine an Earth more like heaven. It came with fill in the blank prompts. When Earth becomes like heaven, people will value people more than things . When Earth becomes like heaven, I will stop struggling with envy and insecurity and instead rejoice in other people's accomplishments and be content with my own small successes . When Earth becomes like heaven, my neighborhood streets will be peaceful. Nobody will live in fear. Everyone will have food, clothing, meaningful employment, and a place to live . When Earth becomes like heaven, there will be no conflict . When Earth becomes like heaven, decisions in community will be made . . .  I gave this a lot of thought but I truly have no idea. If I had the answer to this, I'm pretty sure I could win the Nobel Peace Prize! When Earth becomes like heaven, we'll have much more peace and much less pain, hung...

Today's assignment for the Loyola Press Writing Retreat focused on Writing to Discover. I had to describe my perfect room. This was a fun exercise! It's less about writing and more about imagining. We could use images as well. I actually had to think about this a bit. For me, a room of one's own is the room inside my head. I can always retreat there. I work in spurts, whenever and wherever I have time. Even for this retreat - we are supposed to spend a half-hour of uninterrupted peaceful time a day. That would be lovely, but I've been leaving my notebook out, working on it whenever I could during the day. That being said, alone time in a library is pure bliss! In my room, I would have: 1) A huge arched window letting in lots of natural light, looking out over a wildflower garden with a pond in the distance. 2) bookshelves flanking a comfortable window seat. 3) A comfy couch with a homemade quilt - perfect for taking a nap. 4) A large farmhouse table to do artw...

This week I'm taking part in an on-line writing retreat put on by Loyola Press. It's being directed by Vinita Hampton Wright, author of The Art of Spiritual Writing: How to Craft Prose That Engages and Inspires Your Readers Today's topic is Writing to Pay Attention .  Today’s assignment was to pay attention to an object that had some significance to you. I live in a home brimming with objects, many of which I am quite comfortable with. They are old, familiar, and like me, showing some wear and tear. But I am not a “things” person. I’m constantly trying to cull, to remove unnecessary objects from my environment. Therefore, this task posed a challenge. I had to choose an object that mattered.  I perused my home. I ruled out photos, which I do value, because they are not prized because of what they are, but rather what they represent – the moment of time preserved by dots of ink on a piece of paper. I did the same with art prints which are like old friends to me, ...