I have a friend who is one of those rare people who can speak her mind without causing offense. Who can walk into a room full of friends as her authentic self, true to whatever mood she’s in, and be accepted. Whose hugs feel sincere, and whose wisdom you seek. She can call me on...
Tag: TeresaFunke
The Best Equation for Creativity
One of the definitions of faith is, “the complete trust in someone or something.” Each January, the members of my women’s group choose a personal word for the year. This year, I chose the word “faith,” as defined above. Why? Because in 2023, I was operating from a place of faith regarding multiple projects for...
Still Living in the Summer of ’79
This past week on my newsletter, I wrote about wishing this year I could have the kind of summer I had when I was 12. You know, staying up late playing hide-and-go-seek in the dark, sleeping in and watching game shows all morning, reading books, and splashing in the pool. Spending lots of time laughing...
Go Ahead and Rage It Out
Let me tell you about my rage journal. It’s one of my favorite ongoing writing projects, but you’ll never read any of the pages. No one will. In fact, I’ll never even get to reread what I wrote. And that’s the beauty of this project. It started when I was on my 18-month sabbatical, dealing,...
Have a Very Human Day
I left a phone message today for a truly lovely person who closed out their voicemail greeting with the popular saying, “Make it a great day.” Am I the only one who cringes when I hear that directive? Or maybe you’ve read it on a bumper sticker or seen it on a sign? Sometimes it’s...
Art is the Language of the Soul
Next month, I’m hosting my friend, Katie Huey, to teach her class called, “Actually, There Are Words: A Writing Workshop for Life’s Disruptions.” She’s going to lead us in using wordplay, poetry, and writing prompts to “put words to our difficult experiences of loss, transition, or disruption.” In the past week, my husband and I...
Has Your Yes Become a No?
A friend and I were chatting the other day about directions we were considering for our work, weighing the need to make money against our current desires, etc. We’re both feeling the urge to stretch and grow, but also a longing for peace and contentment. How the heck do you achieve such a balance? At...
Will You Let the Universe Use You?
I ran into a former client from my days as a writer’s coach. She’d self-published a memoir about living with a certain disease. She was telling me all the efforts she’d made to market the book, but it never really caught on, except with the local nurses. She said they recommended her book often and...
A Little Distance Can Bring More Connection
In 1988, I spent a semester studying at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. Most of my friends, my family, and my boyfriend (who is now my husband) were far away in Idaho. This was a time when long-distance calling was not cheap or convenient, not to mention there was only one shared pay phone on...
Let Loose Your Harebrained Ideas
My husband and I have reached some turning points in our creative endeavors, including the ones we’re working on as a team. So, I suggested that every day for a month, we write down one harebrained idea for how we could advance our work or make more money. I called them “harebrained ideas” because I...