Author: markezrastokes
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What does your table look like?
This week, as many of us finalize plans for Thanksgiving, it’s time to consider: Who’s invited to your table? I’ve veered away from my ambitious reading list recently and begun to read John Pavolvitz’s A Bigger Table. The book focuses primarily on the Christian church’s failure to live up to its founder’s invitation, but it…
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What’s so scary about success?
It’s been more than two months since I’ve made substantial progress on the creative project I’m most passionate about. “Why is that?” I ask myself. I’ve fallen into this pattern of almost fishing something far too much, and I don’t think I can attribute it solely to ADHD and my constant penchant for chasing random…
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The importance of showing up
Last week, I addressed the importance of sitting down regularly and working on one’s creative discipline. This week, I want to expand on that to talk about the importance of simply showing up. As a teacher, I often see a clear correlation between absences and academic failure. For those who show up physically, I see another…
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Pumping Keystrokes
Now that I’ve survived a jam-packed week full of deadlines and stressors, I can take a break and look at a blank screen. But what’s a guy to write about when his brain’s turned to mush? Today, we talk about the sacred habit of writing. Nearly every time I’ve sat in on a writing workshop…
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It’s a bird-by-bird kinda week
This coming week will be jam-packed with potential blessings and opportunities for me. When they all pile up like that, I tend to dread the mass of experience instead of savoring each individual accomplishment as it comes. In the meantime, my body’s fighting off a cold. Enter Anne Lamott. Not only is she a tremendous writer,…
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Praise for the Sweats & the Tryhards
I’ve noticed a trend in the past few years. Those who accomplish tasks or put forth an extra effort in whatever they’re doing are labeled “sweats” or “tryhards” while those who boast mediocrity present themselves as heroes for being “real.” After a little digging, I’ve found that the “tryhard” label goes back at least to…
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Us vs. Them: Clearly they’re the problem
Something bothered me on Facebook this week. No surprise there, right? One of my friends shared a post that gets recirculated every few years, but the gist is that a certain group of people (pro athletes, media personalities and Hollywood entertainers) isn’t important, nor are their voices, but another group of people (doctors, teachers, farmers,…
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Embracing the Boogeyman
As an ’80s child reared in the Bible Belt, I had the common fear that tabletop roleplaying games–specifically Dungeons & Dragons–paved a pathway to eternal torment. Fast-forward to the present, and I find myself writing supplements for leaders of such games.
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One’s Relationship to Pain
Ten years ago, I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis. Since then, pain has been my constant companion. Today, we address one’s relationship to pain.
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Tempering Productivity
“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the whole earth revolves—slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment. Only this moment is life.” -Thích Nhất Hạnh
