6-word Novels
2020 could be summarized clearly as a year of reckoning. All those clichés about clarity and 20/20 vision came to bear as we grappled with what is most essential or important in life and what we miss while sheltering in place. All of our values have been called into question, personally, locally, as a nation at large, and worldwide. We have all been given the gift of a profound time-out and it will be interesting to see the new chapter of history we’ve been creating together–alone as it begins to manifest.
I am grateful for so many things and mostly, for the efforts of those who came before me . . . for their toil, sacrifices, endurance, and wisdom that paved the way for us to enjoy the life and level of challenge we face today. We have a lot to learn from their grace and mistakes, their achievements, baffles and longings . . . as we now face our own.
I am especially grateful for both the formal and informal teachers in my life, for those who provided insights or inspiration when I needed it, encouragement when I faltered, set high standards and expressed appreciation for effort or progress being made. I even appreciate those who unwittingly became teachers for me—the bodhisattvas that slapped me “upside the head” or stopped me dead in my tracks, causing me to wake up, stand up, be accountable, or to do things differently.
A friend told me that The Times daily newsletter—The Morning—had invited readers to submit "six word novels" about what made them grateful this Thanksgiving. More than 10,000 responses were received, many of which were featured in a one-page spread of the New York Times, “At Home” section, on Thanksgiving Day. My friend put a spin on the challenge she posed to me, however: "What are six words to describe what you are grateful for because of the pandemic.” I slept on it, and came up with three, 6-word novels:
Living life with love and purpose.
Less is more. Slow is Better.
Having Time. Reviewing Life. Meditating deeply.
Here are more 6-word novels from my students.
• Think food, make food, eat food.
• Slow down, breathe, more self care.
• Sharing sourdough bread with my friends.
• More time for yoga, walking, qigong.
• Chocolate-savoring, flower-blooming, stargazing, birdwatching, qigong resilience.