How do you talk to yourself?
Consider this your doorway to the weekend...
June 11, 2021
Dear Friends,
That was a short-lived experiment, sending Orange Desk on Tuesdays. Nope. That just doesn’t work for my schedule, so we’re back to Fridays. I’m all about ease these days. Consider this your open door to the weekend.
I have been paying attention to how I talk to myself this week. I find myself being so generous in talking with others, and less so with myself.
We are dealing with an increase in barking among our dogs for some reason, and instead of yelling at them (well, two of them are deaf, so that hardly works anyway), I am praising them effusively for being quiet when they stop barking. They all stop by my chair in the living room for me to pet them and I talk to them as I give them a rub: “Good boy! What a pretty boy! You’re the best doggy ever! Who’s a good girl?”
It got me thinking: What would happen if I adopted that strategy for myself? “Good girl, Patti! You’re doing your very best! Way to go!” Let’s all try it this week. Report back. Did you know you can text me at 828-248-7513?
CLASSES AND EVENTS
Calling All Writers!
Write Where You Are: Virtual Writing Retreats for Women - I am hosting small, 10-woman, virtual writing retreats throughout 2021. We will study together, we will write together, and we will laugh together over that weekend. We will explore in new ways, spending time with color and poetry and short stories and each others’ stories and much much more. It will be unexpected and fun and meaningful and I am very excited about it. While the June retreat is sold out, the rest of the 2021 retreats are now open for registration. The limit for each is 10 participants.
Hard Conversations classes are starting again the last week of June. “Whiteness, Race, and Social Justice” will start on June 29, and “Deep Dive Into Racism and Its Undoing” will start July 1. Go here for more details. We have so much work to do, especially those of us who are white. Join us.
LINKS TO LINGER OVER
My new hobby is learning about skincare. I wish I had adopted this hobby in, say, 1988, but it’s never too late. I love watching videos by James and Robert Welsh on skincare and makeup, learning from Caroline Hirons, and many more. (Robert Welsh has the best laugh when he is laughing to himself). For a friend, I drafted my skincare routine as it is right now. Here it is, in case it’s of interest to you. My skin (after six months) looks a lot dewier and glowier, so paying attention to it is paying off for me. Mainly, it is so nice to have that time in the mornings and evenings to be alone in the bathroom taking care of myself lovingly. I might increase my routine to 137 steps for that very reason. Smile.
I love these photos of beautiful people.
How do you make your body yours? Do you even think about that? Many people do.
FREE THINGS
FREE WRITING PROMPTS FOR 2021 - Do you want to get back to a consistent writing routine in the New Year? I am offering free writing prompts every Monday-Friday in 2021. If you’d like to receive them, you can do so in either of the following ways:
By text: Text “writing prompts” to me at 828-248-7513 to sign up for free. Your first prompt will arrive via text the day after you sign up (Monday - Friday).
By email: Go here to sign up for free. Your first prompt will arrive the day after you sign up (Monday - Friday). We added this method because some of you couldn’t participate by text. I hope it is helpful!
I’ll see you next Friday from my Orange Desk. Enjoy the sunshine where you are, whether it is internal or external. Talk to yourself as if you are the cutest puppy alive. You are.
Patti
Patti Digh LLC
Dear Friends, I relax by fake-buying horse farms on which Feliks can enjoy his horse and have other horses and animals. And Emma, too, if by any stretch of the imagination she would ever want to move home again. Both are horse people. I, personally, want baby goats and baby pigs. So, I look around online in the evenings, wondering what is available, and every so often, I find a place I think might be of interest to the family, so I share it with them. Not once has everyone responded with a...
July 23, 2021 A teammate from the horse barn has a birthday this week, and I love Feliks’ commitment to making a gift rather than buying one. Without prior experience, he designed a wooden two-part wall rack for hanging ribbons from horse shows, figuring out what would work best to showcase all the ribbons his friend wins. He got a metal plate and found a place to have the friend’s name engraved on it. He learned how to stain the wood and assembled the design. He also learned to make bridles...
July 16, 2021 Dear Friends, I dreamt recently that I was left in a parking lot at the bottom of a long, steep hill. A friend had promised to take me back to the school at the top of the hill after our meeting, but she had to go elsewhere, and everyone else had left by the time she told me. I started walking, out of the parking lot, and turning left up the hill. In all, I walked for months to get to the top. I am walking uphill with a heavy notebook in my arms and a heavy pack on my back....