You Are a Brave Soul
“You are a brave soul,” she said. And something within me sat upright & at attention, so now I want to share with you that you are a brave soul too. These are the words down a blank sheet of paper upon returning home from an acupuncture appointment. I can still see the desk now,…
Sweet Little Bird
Sitting on the floor today with Dino, one leg bent, the other outstretched–Dino snuggled up in the little crook of my knee, sweet eyes looking up at me. Offering myself the sweet quiet space my body so desires. Nurturing and love, relaxation & freedom. Freedom to create space. Freedom to enjoy space. And in this…
Remembering Our Wings
A friend sent me a card in the mail several years ago–one of those craft paper style ones from Trader Joe’s. On the front there was a delicate illustration of a bird on a branch and along the side, a quotation from Victor Hugo was typed in a lovely italic: There have been many times…
For the Love of Peonies
I glance at the peony on the window sill, and admire its loveliness. It is a large bloom, a light and delicate shade of pink in color. I’ve known others to rave about peonies but I never quite understood. Perhaps because of never actually seen one in real life. Now I get it, I think…
Gentle Afternoon Rain
Last week I attended a performance: gentle afternoon rain. It was warm enough outside that my bedroom window was open. As I finished cooking some veggies in the kitchen, I thought I heard a slight mist. It seemed so out of place with how bright the sun had been shining most of the afternoon. “Is…
What Do Downton Abbey Trailers Have to Do with the Holidays?
There it was in my email inbox. An email from MASTERPIECE. This could only mean one thing: news of Downton Abbey! With great excitement, I clicked the link in the email right away to watch the preview of the final season that begins in January. I scrolled down after I’d finished watching the video and…
Caitlin Sanders
Celebrating the extraordinary treasures found in life's ordinary moments.
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@caitlinmsanders
How it all started…
In 2012 I took a summer writing course for educators that changed my life.
Our final project was to share a narrative we’d written on a topic of our choice. I felt a pull to write mine about my dad, who I’d lost to cancer a few years before. (You can read the piece here.)
The creative process provided me refuge. Emotions erupting like lava from a volcano combined with the action of writing turned out to have serious healing power.
On the last day of class, as I read my narrative aloud, I saw the way my words stirred emotion in each of my classmates, several of them with tears filling and falling from their eyes.
I felt empowered to have created something that could authentically express a sliver of my experience. And in the end, I realized that it didn’t matter if anyone ever read what I’d written not, that going through the writing process had been just for me.
A couple years later I left my job as a classroom teacher to recover from a perfect storm of illness and injury. It was during that time away that I discovered what my cousin called my “gift” — writing.
I started a blog and wrote whenever inspiration struck. I followed the flow of everyday miracles as well as the inspiration provided by nature and my cute little dog, Dino. Many of the posts you’ll find here are from those years I spent dealing with debilitating illness. That time was the source of some of my deepest challenges and greatest treasure.
Now I’m a fifth grade teacher, teaching online and loving every minute of it. But the wind still whispers songs of reassurance in my ears, and the brightly lit clouds sing of the hope of a new tomorrow.
So while my journey of writing, and life, have had many twists and turns and ups and downs, I’d love to continue to share some of the bits of inspiration that find their way to me and the everyday wisdom that seems to appear when I least expect it.
Taking the time to slow down, nourish ourselves, notice the joy and beauty around us, is one of the greatest gifts we can give to ourselves and others. It is through this presence that we can share the love that we are, and find the grace that lives within every heartbeat and every cell of our bodies.
So I hope you’ll join me on this adventure, and we’ll see where love leads us!
Caitlin Sanders
Create. Heal. Inspire.