Say The Word

I wish I could remember my ninth grade English teacher’s name.

I’ve thought about her so many times over the years, but I can barely picture her.

Young, dark hair, slightly forbidding.

She introduced me to Zeffirelli’s Romeo & Juliet, which inspired me to memorize the entire play during my morning bus rides (don’t judge my dorky, romantic, 13-year-old self-- she was obsessed).
​
​

That should have been enough to make her memorable, but as the years passed, there are two other things that surpassed my love of Shakespeare that I would love to thank her for. 

It was Honors English, so she gave us two homework assignments to be done over the summer break:
​

1. We had to read William Least Heat-Moon’s Blue Highways, which truly altered the trajectory of my life and I’ve re-read no less than 20 times since.
​

2. We had to keep a journal for the summer and turn it in with a minimum of 10 entries. I filled my first journal that summer and it was the beginning of a habit that has never stopped in the 25+ years since she assigned it to me.
​
​

It’s that second assignment, the journaling assignment, that I’ve been thinking about a lot this year. 

I’ve pulled out the old journals I have with me (only the ones since we hit the road in 2017, but still…that’s 11 journals not including my current one). 

I’ve dug through them, looked at patterns, thought about what they offered and how they’ve served me (or not) over the years.

I’ve thought about the ways I’ve taught and encouraged people I knew to journal over the years. 

I’ve thought about changes to my techniques and how I’ve approached it differently at different times in my life.
​
​

That digging smashed right up against the challenges of 2020, swirled in with writing my first novel, and intersected with a full roster of amazing coaching clients. 

And guess what?

Say The Word® was born.
​
​

I’m going to be sharing more about the method over the next weeks and months, but for now, here’s the gist of it:
​

Say The Word® is a way of using journaling and prompts to access our curiosity and harness it into naming and gaining clarity around our experiences, values, and emotions in a way that equips us to move forward with purpose.​
​
Can I just tell you how freaking excited I am about this and how effective it’s been? 

And I want to invite you to try it.
​
​

Join me for: 
​

​Say The Word: A Retreat for Release and Invitation​

December 5, 2020

11am-3pm EST

$79 (early bird pricing through Oct 31, then $97)​

We’re going to spend half a day using this method to begin to process the roller coaster ride that has been 2020 and to identify what we’d like to invite into our lives in 2021. 

Space will be limited. This will be an intimate gathering where we’ll put pen to paper and walk away with tangible tools to make sense of all this year has brought to bear.
​

I hope you’ll be there.
​
To learn more, click here, or feel free to reach out with any questions! 
​

I may not remember my ninth grade English teacher's name, but it doesn't lessen the impact she's had on my life nor the ways that impact has reverberated through me and into others in ways both large and small.

You never know where what you offer the world might land. 

It might remain a seed that lies dormant for awhile before blossoming into something far reaching.

It might be just the permission someone needs to embrace their own gifts.

It might simply bring joy and richness to another person's day.

So don't be shy. 

A book, a meal, a process, an insight-- who knows where it might land. Share what you love with others. 

And in the meantime...
​
​Stay curious out there, my friend.