Lately I feel like I’m rushing around all the time, even while I’m sitting still staring at my computer screen, waiting for something to happen. Does that ever happen to you? You feel somehow frantic and extremely bored at the same time, eyes anxiously skittering across bite-sized half-stories that don’t really have any true impact … Continue reading Lessons from Lichen
I’ve been reading more and more of my writer friends and colleagues’ work via substack, one of the many newsletter services out there these days. It seems easy to use and allows me to promote the work of other writers, so I took the plunge a few weeks ago. I’ll probably be writing there more … Continue reading Ordinary Collisions
It’s been a long, cold spring. After what felt like a long, cold winter. (And I like winter!) I don’t know about you, but if you’re anything like me, life has felt really hard for quite some time now. It’s been a trying several months for many, in myriad ways…from burnout do to overwork to … Continue reading Healing through Hiking
12 Tiny Things: Simple Ways to Live a More Intentional Life, the book I co-authored with Ellie Roscher, has been out in the world for about eleven months now. It’s a strange and wonderful thing to see the words you’ve written take on a life of their own once they are out of your hands. … Continue reading Imperfect Practice [is still] the Way Forward
Does multitasking ever threaten to splice your attention into little bits? When the pull to do 15 things at once comes calling, I try to remember to do four simple things. When I can remember to do these four simple things, I can honestly say that I am present in my moments. That I taste … Continue reading Embrace Your Wild In Four Simple Steps
12 Tiny Things is available for pre-order! Help us spread the word! 12 Tiny Things has been an intentional community for almost three years now. Ellie Roscher and I started it by asking the question: What is enough? As in, what is just the right amount? It moved into an intentional living practice of embracing the tiny … Continue reading 12 Tiny Things: The Book!
The act of not writing is just as important as writing. Never underestimate the importance of staring out of a window or going for a walk. All too often the knottiest story problems can only be untangled by getting away from the desk. If all else fails, try going to sleep and letting your subconscious … Continue reading Running on Fumes
This is an excerpt from Woodland Manitou: To Be on Earth, available now wherever books are sold.
***
Here we are once again. It’s fall in the Midwest, and the weather is changing. The leaves of the maple trees out back are at their peak of orange and yellow vibrancy, and the backyard seems to glow with a quality of light that is unique to this time of year. As I walk down the steps to the lake, leaves crunch under my feet and the air feels cooler than it has in months. We still haven’t had a hard freeze, which is unusual and perhaps yet another sign of a climate that is getting increasingly unpredictable. But regardless the mild weather, the earth is sloughing off her summer skin and slowing down in preparation for what is to come. Winter’s cloak of stillness will be here soon enough.
Though the seasons change every year, sometimes it’s easy to forget the lessons we can glean from this age old rhythm of the planet. Each season has its wisdom, and autumn is no exception. There are lessons to be learned if we let the earth teach. Continue reading “Lessons of Autumn”
Fellow Minnesota writer (and my co-founder of 12 Tiny Things) Ellie Roscher recently penned a blog posted called “To Joyfully Endorse” – she said one of the greatest joys of being a writer is championing other writers. And I wholeheartedly agree. There’s this thing that happens when you are an author – you write a … Continue reading The Honor of Endorsing
**I’m just finishing up the book tour for What Comes Next, a Little Bound Books Essay Series installment about my experience with job loss. What follows is part of the book talk I gave at a few of the events. I thought I’d share it here for those who were unable to attend!** What not … Continue reading What Not to Say to Someone Who Has Just Lost Their Job
![Imperfect Practice [is still] the Way Forward](https://heidibarr.files.wordpress.com/2021/11/c210206_12tt_mugsneakpeek_0005.jpg?w=256&h=256&crop=1)
Heidi Barr | Author 