Authentically Teresa Funke – Never AI
Come in From the Cold
There’s a line in the Carrie Newcomer song, “Betty’s Diner,” that says, “Despair and hope sit face to face when you come in from the cold.” She’s talking about a gathering place where people from all walks of life arrive to accept nourishment and a kind word. They come looking for hope. Ordinarily, I love...
The Strength to Stand Your Ground
A few years ago, I went to a political primary in my neighborhood. I’d been too busy to study up on the two candidates, and went hoping to hear something that would tell me which person should get my vote. I was still on the fence at the end of the evening. But then everyone...
Art and Your Own Bursts of Brilliance
The other day, my daughter eagerly showed me a hat her friend had knitted for her. “Isn’t it cool, Mom?” she said. “She made it for me.” This past fall, I hired an artist to do a drawing of my house. With her permission, I made copies for my kids as their Christmas presents. Sure,...
Shame, Shame, Go Away
Brené Brown made it okay for us to talk about shame, both men and women. So, let’s go there. Because it seems to me artists deal with more than our fair share of shame. And it comes at us from opposing angles, to the point where sometimes we feel we can’t win: “You spent all...
What is Intuition, Anyway?
A colleague recently suggested I write a post defining intuition. After all, I speak often about the importance of following our inner guidance. My first thought was, “That’s a bit of a lofty suggestion. Who am I to explain something as deep and disputable as intuition?” My second thought was, “There you go, doubting yourself...
Conviction in the Face of Doubt
Recently, I listened to a speaker list three significant moments in her past when she doubted her ability to move forward, and how a key figure in her life told her each time, she could do it. His confidence propelled her onward. Things have not always been that way for me. At several important junctures...
Whatever You Will, Will Be
I’ve been thinking lately about all the messages I received as a child, all the things society wanted us to believe that never felt totally right to me, yet I accepted them. Why? For example, when I was a kid, my mom loved the Doris Day song, “Que Sera Sera.” In the lyrics, the young...
Cast Out the Clutter
Every month, our local thrift store calls and asks if we have any donations, and every month we say, “Sure, we’ll leave a bag on the porch for you.” It forces my husband and I to walk through our entire house every 30 days, dig through all our closets, and ask ourselves what no longer...