A Wonderful Christmas Gift to Myself: The Winter Writing Sanctuary by Beth Kempton

 

A screenshot from the Winter Writing Sanctuary Seminar on Beth Kempton's website

I initially refused this gift. A good friend of mine suggested this writing seminar last November 18. It was absolutely free. And yet, I resisted. However, I realized that I owed myself this present. I was creatively dry in 2020. And so, I said yes. 

It has been the best Christmas gift I've given myself in a long time. The seminar is broken up into 12 days of writing. I wrote a total of 16 poems! Imagine that. Beth Kempton is an amazing mentor. Her tone is so soothing and she is the epitome of encouragement. While there was a lot of winter imagery (and there's no winter in the Philippines) I still appreciated how she focused on the overwhelm one feels during the holidays. I realized that I wanted to keep this season small and sacred, considering the many heartaches and disappointments I encountered this year. This seminar helped me create just that... and more. 

I'll be posting all sixteen of my poems from this seminar in the next blog posts. Enjoy! 

Have a small, sacred Christmas, everyone, as well as a hopeful New Year! 

Here's a link to Beth Kempton's website where she offers great writing courses: Do What You Love for Life. 

Here are my Winter Writing Sanctuary poems on my blog: 

1. Winter Writing Sanctuary, 1.0 Welcome + warm up, Invitation B: Your favorite cuppa: Chamomile
2. Winter Writing Sanctuary, 1.1 Inhabiting the Season, Spark 1: BLUE
3. Winter Writing Sanctuary, 1.1 Inhabiting the season, Invitation C: Walk in Wonder: Kaginhawahan Bridge, November 2020
4. Winter Writing Sanctuary, 1.2. Changing your perspective, Invitation D: Small Stories: Dragonfly, or A Six-Month Life
5. Winter Writing Sanctuary, 1.3 Observing others, Spark 3: POOL
6. Winter Writing Sanctuary 1.3, Observing others, Invitation E: People Watching: B, 13
7. Winter Writing Sanctuary 1.4, Reading the season, Spark 4: Paper
8. Winter Writing Sanctuary, 1.4 Reading the season, Invitation F: Winter Memories: Rhodesia corner Zambia Streets, Kings Beach, north shore of Lake Tahoe
9. Winter Writing Sanctuary, 1.5 A precious gift, Spark 5: Discharge, September 11, 2020
10. Winter Writing Sanctuary, 1.5 A precious gift, Invitation G: Snail Mail: Grand Canyon
11. Winter Writing Sanctuary, Spark 2.1, Exchanging Words, Spark 6: Light
12. Winter Writing Sanctuary, 2.1. Exchanging Words, Invitation H: The Meeting: At her table
13. Winter Writing Sanctuary, 2.3 Honouring the melancholy, Invitation J: Feeling it: The Art of Extinguishment
14. Winter Writing Sanctuary 2.4, Indulging, Spark 9: Apple Pie
15. Winter Writing Sanctuary 2.5, Taking a moment, Spark 10: Peace on Earth
16. Winter Writing Sanctuary 2.6, Wrap + next steps, Spark 11: Mending