Iris Songs - Substack posts of transformation
March 2024
Two criteria for Iris Songs: #1 they are specific posts that inspired me and my particular life path; #2 they are from writers who are not Substack “celebrities.”
Purpose: to express my gratitude for some of the writers who are enhancing my life with their posts, and help readers explore this Substack banquet where real writers and real readers mix and mingle. Out of the hundreds of thousands of posts published each month on Substack, these represent only slivers of the Substack bounty, however, they brought me insights, joy, and a new understanding of the world.
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March:
Imaginative Storm, Zoom into the Imaginative StormAllegra’s impact has gone beyond one post into a series of engagements that are gradually freeing my “inner writer.” Allegra and her partner James Navé have created a fun, inspiring, and remarkable twice-weekly series of what I call “jazz writing” … 10 minutes of word-and-image prompted free writing. They manage to stimulate imagination while meticulously managing the Zoom time for prompting, writing, and reading back process. The linked post is only a sample of what comes out of these amazing sessions. Allegra’s and Navé’s work models the creative and generous work of the Substack community of writers.
BELOW is an example of a collective writing that came out of one Imaginative Storm prompted writing session … Three Part Harmony dedicated to
and . Creative Fuel, Creative Lessons from Women ArtistsThis post, done in honor of International Women’s Day and featuring 7 women, is so rich, I plan to return to it periodically. My notes focus on deep curiosity and this quote which keeps me pondering: “It is simply this: do not tire, never lose interest, never grow indifferent—lose your invaluable curiosity and you let yourself die. It's as simple as that.” - Tove Jansson, Fair Play
Among my notes: Quit Skimming! No - skim away - but recognize the hot spots calling for a deeper dive. This post also made me want to up my graphics game. Anna also credits fellow substacker/collaborator
mentioned here in February. What Works, Learning Empathy from Copywriters and DopplegangersTara hit a nerve with this post/series on empathy … prompting a lot of notes and quotes. In addition to two-pages of mindmapped notes, a deeper understanding of what empathy really is, many questions leading to better empathy, several additional readings, and what Tara calls her empathy “decoder ring” which I’m now trying out on past relationship events, perhaps the best snippet of the value of this post to me is this quote: “There is a profound tension between who we are and who we want to become. In the best-case scenario, the tension is a creative one—we accept and love who we are while we tenderly cultivate our ever-changing selves.”
My take-away so far: Therefore, empathy isn’t just a way to be nice to others, it is the door to potential new understanding of them … and myself.
A.M. Sketching, Imperfection, flowersIf Sue did nothing other than share her “sketches,” I’d be a fan. But, this is about posts that impact me … which this one did. The yearning to be able to sketch sent me back to a wasteland of previous failures. Once again, hope struggled through broken grounds and I bought the recommended book: Color first, Ink later. There it sits, unopened. However, I know that every time I see one of Sue’s posts, I will be reminded of this unfulfilled desire. Now I’m getting ready to buy my 47th set of watercolors. “Good enough is good enough,” Sue says. Stay tuned.
The Books That Made Us You Walk Into a RoomNot only is he the source of one of the most lushly beautiful and profound stacks I’ve discovered (Cosmographia), he continues to stimulate community with his almost-impossible-not-to-contribute questions like this one he asked in Notes which immediately claimed a room in my mind and said “leave me alone … I want to think about this for awhile.”
Here’s the question: You walk into a room with every fictional character in every book you’ve ever read. Who do you look for first?
Create Me Free, 5 Substack Writers You Really Should Know
Kathryn is a role model of generosity for the Substack community of writers. In this post she recommends five writers and produced an individual word cloud for each writer. She describes what she’s doing as “creating an online library of resources related to the complex relationship between art and mental health.”
My Substack reading is enriched by Kathryn’s recommendations. This post should have been in the February garden. Better late than never.
Three Part Harmony … collected “gems” from 14 writers During an Imaginative Storm writing session.
Everyone on the road is high,
snatched by the Universe too soon
just to let the legends live and
other things that don't add up
decades later when the moon hangs
low wherever you go
and candle lights paint puddles
with the best intentions but know
that god may be faded
but she's not dead ... not yet...
just hoping to be seen at
Hollywood and Vine still
dancing I see,
floating on mist
desperately whispering
into unhearing ears.
When seven lies won't do
and I loved like I once loved,
those were the days when
we never ate dinner before 10
and I ate nothing because
we all have secrets and
life has a way of catching up
with its shadowy ideas and
a spice that makes the world go round,
but the neighbors with the
barking dogs have moved away
and I wanted to fly,
can you hear me cry?
February:
My Sweet Dumb Brain, Look for the glimmersKatie writes about real life from the prospective of someone who has been there (she became a widow at age 31). Her insightful wisdom is tempered with fresh humor. This post took “think positive” to a simple practice of focusing on life “glimmers” rather than triggers. This image of noting tiny moments “that bring us a sense of joy and calm” reminded me how powerful it is to deliberately look for tiny joys.
Rona Maynard Amazement Seeker, The Heart Lifting Power of Compliments
Rona calls herself a storyteller, flâneur and gatherer of moments that light my way through the dark times. I had to look up flâneur which sounds so much better than “idler” that I may have to adopt it. Her post on creating a “confidence file” prompted me to resurrect and look at my “kudos” file with new eyes.
Subtle Maneuvers, Get rid of what your project needsMason is the author of DAILY RITUALS books and this post came at the perfect moment when I was starting to think about a new project. It gave me a process idea that I’m still using to develop the project.
The Bright Life, How to get unstuckI’m an expert at getting stuck (and lost). Historically, I did my dithering in private. With the safety-net feeling created by Substack, I’ve begun to let it all hang out. When a recent choice held me fixed in tharn and nothing seemed to break it, Donna’s getting unstuck process came along at the perfect moment and I’m grateful for her wisdom. (Details in case you want them at Hypothetically, it’s open mic night ...) Donna, a practicing Chiropractor, writes from a heart-centered, evidence-based perspective, focusing on science and spirit.
January:
This Iris Song post comes from SAFAR FIERTZE “What do you want to be when you grow up.” Safar celebrates the stories of quiet revolutionaries.
From my grade school days, I remember reading about the floating gardens of Xochimilco, MX. Safar surprised me with this update on how those ancient agriculture methods are now considered state of the art environmental practices. Her words sparked a desire to see these gardens in person and I hope to see them this spring.
Daily Quotes … only on Notes for everyone … and flip books for paid subscribers
I love putting images and words together and have begun the process of creating a daily offering of quotes and memes on Notes only for all Substack readers and as a monthly flip book for paid subscribers who can share them as desired. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy harvesting my life-time collection of quotes and images.
March will focus on memes I have created and will ONLY be posted daily on Notes. (Not adding to the email overload.)
February focused on Hermann Hesse.
January focused on creativity.
Flip book links for paid subscribers come right after this paywall.
Flip books and special thanks to all of you who are willing and able to financially support this newsletter.
I am committed to keeping all posts free so these little extras are just to show my gratitude … well, plus I love making these flip books. And do remember that you are free to share them with friends and family. Click on the image to access the flip books.
Thank you for the incredibly kind words, Joyce!
A damn nice post