The Art of Onward

an invitation and a preview

First off—thank you all for your flood of texts, emails, and comments on last week’s autobiographical post. You never know how things will land, and this one impacted many of you. Thank you for reading.

“Whether this is the first day of the Apocalypse or the first day of the Golden Age, the work remains the same…to love each other and ease as much suffering as possible.”
- Ram Dass

It’s a challenging period as a country and a culture, with a lot coming at us all the time. We need to take care of ourselves even as we seek loving, purposeful action. That’s going to be a major focus here on Fridays, and I’m so glad to have you along with me. The tagline for the Blue Room is “a place to breathe amid the clamor of everyday life.” And life shows no signs of de-clamoring, does it?

graphic by Amelia Dana

I’m also feeling the need and nudge to go deeper with a group of folks who feel similarly nudged. That’s why I’m putting together The Art of Onward, which just began this week. This series is for supporting subscribers—you can support the Blue Room for as little as $5 per month, or about $3 a month if you opt for a yearly subscription. That comes to around 50 cents per post!

If you’d like to join us but are unable to pay, please get in touch. Members and friends of Trinity Presbyterian, Herndon are eligible for complimentary gift subscriptions; just ask.

Oh and hey! Maybe you’d like to do the Art of Onward with a friend for support and accountability. If one of you subscribes, I’ll comp the second one.

The Art of Onward will include two additional items each month:

• a practice for sustaining ourselves spiritually (the first one went out on Monday and is open for all to read)

• a creative “way-station”: a value to help us move toward the world as it could be, to transform the “three feet or so” that Carrie Newcomer sings about. These values connect with the material in my upcoming book. Our first world-building event is this Monday 1/20, see below.

Some pieces will be written reflections; some will be live Zoom conversations, with recordings available later:

The Art of Onward—Schedule

January 13—Spiritual Sustenance (asynchronous*)
January 20—Way-Station One: Curiosity (12 p.m. ET on Zoom)
February 10—Spiritual Sustenance (asynchronous)
February 24—Way-Station Two: Courage (12 p.m. ET on Zoom)
March 10—Spiritual Sustenance (asynchronous)
March 24—Way-Station Three: Presence (12 p.m. ET on Zoom)
April 7—Spiritual Sustenance (asynchronous)
April 21—Way-Station Four: Authenticity (asynchronous)
May 12—Spiritual Sustenance (asynchronous)
June 2—Way-Station Five: Beauty (asynchronous)
June 16—Spiritual Sustenance (12 p.m. ET on Zoom)
June 30—Way-Station Six: Community (12 p.m. ET on Zoom)

*Asynchronous events may shift slightly, but will take place the week scheduled.

I hope you’ll join me as we explore The Art of Onward!

Steady on.

~

(the return of) What I’m Up To (now that I’m up to more than writing a book!)

• I’m preaching this Sunday at 10:15 a.m. ET at Trinity Presbyterian, Herndon and via livestream. We’re starting a new series called Letters from Love, inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert’s project by that name, and premised on the idea that scripture is God’s Letter from Love to us. I’m preaching one of my all-time favorite stories.

• The first week of February I’m at the Religious Arts Festival at Independent Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, AL, including a presentation and an interactive improv jam. Theme is “Smiles, Kindness and Community,” and who doesn’t need that? Join us if you’re in town!

• Looking further out, Unity Presbyterian Church in Fort Mill, SC (Charlotte suburbs) is doing a study of Hope: A User’s Manual and I’m scheduled to preach at the conclusion, Sunday March 2. And I’ll be at Synod School for the Synod of Lakes and Prairies (Presbyterian Church (USA)), the last week in July.

~

Link Love

My friend Ed’s new book is out! Ordinary BenchMarks blends beautiful photography with thoughtful reflections on how we find meaning in ordinary moments.

Also, please give these SoCal Substackers a look: Frances writes about the disjointed experience of being untouched by the fire, but not unaffected. And our dear Steve writes a letter from hell.

And finally: Chip the Russian Tortoise has a new video on Insta.