Writer's Mental Health Archives

Glug, horror, attention!

June 6, 2018 by Lauren B. Davis 4 Comments

As some of you know I have, with the help of the wonderful team of Bob and Garrett Griffith, created a raised bed vegetable garden.

I love it. Veggies, you know? But here’s the problem… Bailey the Rescuepoo wandered out past the garden and was suddenly all muddy, as many short-legged white dogs might be. So I followed him, trying to get him to come back. Bath time.

And then it happened. I stepped… and my foot dissolved into nothing! I leaped up, and out and over! I don’t think I touched the solid ground for four feet. Up, by magical motion and out, by sheer will. And there was shrieking. The sort of shrieking one expects from a horror film.

When we are here… here…look!

June 4, 2018 by Lauren B. Davis 10 Comments

As some of you know, I popped off social media a few days ago. I’m a bit conflicted, I admit, and probably in the thrall of withdrawal, if you will. I miss people — and I hope they will find me and reach out. But I’m also much more at peace. I do not need another meme telling me how awful the world is. I need hope, and connection

Today the weather was about as perfect as one can expect. Warm but not hot, with a lovely, orange-blossom scented breeze.

From Darkness to Light

December 28, 2017 by Lauren B. Davis 4 Comments

Konrad Mägi (1878-1925) – Norwegian Landscape (Winter Landscape), 1908

The ancient Celts believed the new day began at sunset, as do modern pagans, Jews, and some Christians. Similarly, the ancients celebrated the new year on Samhain, October 31.

Wisdom for a Hunger Moon

February 10, 2017 by Lauren B. Davis 6 Comments

Hunger Moon / Snow Moon

Here in North America, Indigenous people tell us the name for the full moon in February is the Snow Moon, or the Hunger moon.

Yesterday we had what New Jersey folk call a snow storm, and while it was a bit blustery, for this Canadian, 4 inches of snow is hardly a storm. Still, it seems auspicious that today the garden is softened and muffled in white. The sun is reflecting off the snow, bringing a wash of bright hope into the house.

Homecoming

August 11, 2015 by Lauren B. Davis 1 Comment

Pointing north in the garden

This morning I woke up and, after taking the dog out to do his business before the rain started, made up my bed, smoothing the linen cover, plumping the pillows, setting the lavender sachet among the pillows just so. Then I went downstairs and made coffee, and while the water boiled I looked out the window into the garden at the armillary placed in the center of the stone circle. The armillary’s arrow points due north, a sort of North Star, situating me, in the place, in this home.

A Subtle But Important Distinction

July 29, 2015 by Lauren B. Davis 2 Comments

A man I respect immensely — kind, caring, smart, funny and filled with the sort of humility that’s truly inspiring — told me a story yesterday that I want to share with you.

It’s not really his story any more than it’s mine, but it is the sort of story that holds such wonderful wisdom that it deserves to be widely shared.

So here it is, slightly paraphrased:

The Life That Is Waiting For Us (might just be here)

November 6, 2014 by Lauren B. Davis 9 Comments

E.M. Forster wrote, “We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”

Change is inevitable, and the wisest words in all the world are these, this, too, shall pass. For better for for worse, nothing lasts. We live in a constant state of transience.

There are been lots of changes, both on the macro and the micro level, over the past while. Deaths, the overturning of fortunes and of governments, friends dealing with serious health issues, prizes won and lost, public scandal and careers ended, hearts broken, dreams dashed and dreams born.

Writers’ Blog Tour – How Does My Writing Process Work? Question #4

August 9, 2014 by Lauren B. Davis 7 Comments

I explained in an earlier post what the Writers’ Blog Tour is about. Basically, writers answer the same four questions:

Why do I write what I do?

What am I working on?

How does my work differ from other work in its genre?

How does my writing process work?

You can click on the links to see my answers to previous questions. Today I’ll (try to) answer the final question:

The Writing Process

How Does My Writing Process Work?

The only reasonable response seems to be, “I have no idea.” However, although it may feel that way sometimes, it’s not a very helpful response.

So Ends The Silence

April 7, 2014 by Lauren B. Davis 8 Comments

Window on a quieter time.

A month ago I posted that I was going to be off social media for a month, and so I was. It was WONDERFUL.

And yes, it took a little getting used to at first. One of the reasons I wanted to wean myself off it was that I found myself far too inclined towards it, if you know what I mean. I felt as though I was waiting for something all the time. Who would tweet me? Who would comment on my post? What offensive thing out there did I simply HAVE to comment on? What petition must I sign? Who would favorite me? On and on. I don’t think that’s healthy. One forgets to realize where one’s feet are when constantly focusing on such things.

Sign of the Times

November 30, 2013 by Lauren B. Davis 6 Comments

A Sign of the Times?

Just before American Thanksgiving (for those of you here in the US who never gaze northward, Canada celebrates Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October), a friend of mine posted this photo on Facebook. I don’t know the name of the man in the picture, nor who took it, but if you do, please let me know and I’ll give credit where credit is undeniably due.