The Resiliency Circle: April reminder & details

Are we allowed to care about our creativity during turbulent times? Yes, we are allowed to care about our creativity during turbulent times.

Dear friends, readers, allies, & neurodivergent peers,

I’m struggling. And I already know you probably are, too.

I’m not going to lie: Sometimes, a small but loud part of me gets worried that I’m caring for “the wrong things” or in “the wrong direction,” that my special interests & my small career mean nothing in the face of rising fascism.

Fortunately, there’s a strange kind of insurance built into my job. I spend so much of my time caring so deeply and so genuinely about other people’s right and ability to protect their creative spark, that I can’t help but also reinforce my own.

Which is probably why, the other night, I blurted out to my partner:

I mean, it’s not like I stop being the steward of my own life?!

Even as I grieve for democracy, fear for the future, and spend restless afternoons feeling powerless and exhausted—I remain the first and primary caretaker of this little ecosystem called, self.

And in addition to everything happening out there, locally and globally, we each remain, à la Mary Oliver, the one human responsible for our wild and precious life.

With these truths in mind: It’s time for another gentle, strengths-based gathering.

The Resiliency Circle is where paid readers of For the Birds get together in order to write, reflect, and nurture our creativity.

A gentle monthly opportunity, it’s low-stakes, low-commitment, and high reward.

And it’s happening again this Friday, April 25th, at 9:30am PST / 12:30pm EST.

This month’s deeply inspiring prompt-based workshop will be hosted by the brilliant

Rebecca D. Martin

!

Here’s a few words from Rebecca herself:

These days, the daily news moves many of us toward stress and fear, especially those of us attuned toward meanings and connections, and extra-especially those of us who are neurodivergent and always feel things deeply.

In this gathering, we will look at several poems and a work of art for inspiration, and then we’ll write according to related prompts. By doing so, we’ll connect with things that move us toward life and beauty, even amid worry and stress.

If you are:

• Looking for easeful ways to keep your head above water,

• Craving gentle, low-stakes community, or

• Trying to prioritize some creative nourishment this month

…then this workshop is for you.

Rebecca D. Martin

is a teacher who uses books, poetry, and art to guide youth and adults into self-realization and creative expression. She has taught high school American Lit, college freshman Composition, and middle school Creative Writing, as well as workshops in her Lynchburg, Virginia, community, where she is also a museum docent. Find her writing in places like Kinfolk Magazine, Brevity’s Nonfiction Blog, the Curator, Midstory Magazine, and in her own Substack, Out for Stars.

Zoom link & RSVP: