Susan Palmer's Exquisite Now

A writer takes a minute for a closer look

recent posts

  • Yes, you are

    Creative, I mean. Even if you think you aren’t.

    I love this book of poetry prompts by poet Joseph Fasano. In my book club, (OK, truthfully, my mother and two sisters meeting weekly on Zoom; we talk books to maintain fresh discussion points), we enjoy using the prompts in Fasano’s book to write. His prompts have shown us unexpected, playful images and sometimes powerful connections among our inner selves and the natural world, another kind of alchemy. We can be silly. We can be serious and we catch ourselves and each other off-guard in interesting ways.

    Here’s an example of a poetry prompt from the “The Magic Words.” followed by what I wrote using the prompt. What a fine gift Fasano has given with this book. A skilled poet is crooking a finger in our direction, saying: “Come on in, the water’s fine.”

    Here’s what I wrote:

  • Be safe out there

    courtesy of Pixabay

    Please take a moment to read this story (linked below), published today in the Yachats News. Especially, read it if you visit beaches anywhere from from Northern California to southern Washington state.

    Sneaker waves are nothing like I thought they were, and much more dangerous than I understood.

    I’m so glad I got to write this story for the Yachats News. My respect for the power of the ocean grew tremendously.

    Eugene woman who survived sneaker wave with granddaughter last year in Yachats returns with warnings

  • Morning ritual

    Artist Patricio González, from Pixabay

    I’m starting my mornings with Nia’s 5 Stages. I love how Nia trainer Laurie Bass has described this practice on her web site.

    For my non-dancing friends, this isn’t dance. It’s a stretching/moving routine that only takes five minutes. For me this simple morning ritual brings a wonderful body-centered awareness. I have a lovely recording of “Where Giants Walk” that I move to. It’s on the “Feather, Stone & Light” CD, which features Native American flutist, R. Carlos Nakai, guitarist William Eaton and percussionist Will Clipman. It’s just the right length.

    Also, since I seem incapable of refraining from Nia evangelism, I can’t overstate how good it feels to dance with Laurie Bass, who has fine online recorded routines through the Nia on Demand website. She also teaches live online classes through her website.

    The other cool thing about Bass’s website is its excellent articles about Nia.

    I’m appeciating how good feelings that start in the body feed the brain. The 5 Stages help me with that.