Go, Dog, Go

What do I need right now? Probably nothing more than a few days off, which I plan to take the last week of the month. What don't I need? Self-judgment and self-imposed pressure to keep up.

ObservationsJena SchwartzDecember 10, 2019 Comments

Thanksgiving Thoughts

This is a day of sorrow. And this is a day of giving thanks. I wonder as I type the words whether both can be true, and am not at all convinced that the answer is yes.

Real Life, Resistance, ObservationsJena SchwartzNovember 28, 2019Comment

11 things (beats staring at the blinking cursor)

Real Life, Creative Process, ObservationsJena SchwartzNovember 25, 2019writing exercise, writing practice, 11s, yoga, 30 day yoga challenge, Yoga with Adriene, Thanksgiving, Family, divorce, CoparentingComment

Some Words of Encouragement for Regular People

What if you let go of the pressure to produce and focused more on what feels good?

The Sacred Is Never Somewhere Else

My head is foggy, so I wonder why I sat down to write a blog post. But I think that may be the reason, actually. To sit and write even when I am not the least bit inspired feels worthwhile.

Returning

Inhale. Exhale. Thought thought thought thought thought. Leaves fluttering. Eyes heavy. Inhale. Exhale. Car warm. Drowsy. Thought thought thought thought. Inhale. Exhale. Temptation to check timer. Inhale. Exhale. And then, finally, the chime. Aaaaaaaah. I did it.

"Be the Chicken"

Maybe I'm not so much like the chicken after all. But I do love the simplicity and whimsy of the picture, so perhaps that, at the end of the day, is why I like it and will keep it on the fridge.

Observations, Real LifeJena SchwartzSeptember 23, 2019creativity, Spontaneity, creative process, writing prompt, playfulnessComment

Help Always Comes

It's the same mountain, you know. The one and very same mountain you've been scaling your whole life.

Community, Creative Process, ObservationsJena SchwartzSeptember 14, 2019Jewish Mysticism, death, Faith, trust, Keep going Comment

Broken Glass

Like glass, I feel very breakable and very strong these days, a strange, living contradiction, a container of Whitman-esque multitudes.

ObservationsJena SchwartzSeptember 10, 2019freewrite, unedited, writing prompt, writing practice, broken glass, anxiety, broken, whole, healing, wholenessComment

It's Not a Performance

It's like the rabbi reminds the congregation at the start of the Torah service, every time there is a bar or bat mitzvah: We are not here as performer and audience, but as a community.

Real Life, Observations, CommunityJena SchwartzSeptember 9, 2019self-love, friendship, connection, writing practice, being, TrustComment

"You Really Look Like You Know What You're Doing"

What if playing with balance was the very thing that made me good at this thing?

Being Spiritually Equipped (Without the Bypassing)

Jewish Life, ObservationsJena SchwartzAugust 7, 2019spirituality, Judaism, Elul, High Holidays, forgiveness, introspection, Marianne Williamson, "we are the ones", reactivity Comments

On Not Chasing Things

Magic needs freedom.

And true freedom requires beginning here, with this moment of quiet and stillness.

About This Morning

Poetry, ObservationsJena SchwartzJuly 24, 2019Nature, Running, listening, PoetryComment

Small Found Things

Real Life, ObservationsJena SchwartzJuly 19, 2019anxiety, kindness, attention, paying attention, love, gentleness, relationshipsComment

"Be Good to Yourself" :: Not Just Some Pithy Pablum

Hating on yourself is not cool. It doesn't exactly open the creative floodgates. And "being good to yourself" is neither as easy as it sounds or as shallow as it may seem. In fact, I'd argue that its depths are vast, and when you dive down, you'll find wreckage and treasure alike. And isn't that where the writing lives?

On Not Bypassing Anger

What I have experienced is that by giving myself space to FEEL anger, to truly just feel it, the pressure to "make it something" is lessened and I do, in turn, feel more able to take action.

Breathe Easy

What do I want to feed my imagination? Now that feels like a question worth spending time with.

Sitting with Our "Stuff"

Then I stand in my driveway in the early morning, and the beauty of the flowering trees and bird songs makes me want to weep, for the gift of these and the stark, impossible disparities.

Observations, ResistanceJena SchwartzMay 9, 2019mass shootings, coping, trauma, self-careComment

You Begin Again

You can't keep up.
You stop trying to keep up.
You decide it's worth waiting for.
You decide to screw waiting.

ObservationsJena SchwartzMay 6, 2019lists, writing practiceComment

Blog

Magic needs freedom.