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Are You Phosphorescent?

Every quarter I contribute an essay to Elan Vitae Magazine. For Spring 2024, I wrote an essay entitled “Phosphorescent,” which was inspired by my March 2024 blog. (If you are curious, you can read that HERE.)

Every issue has a theme, and the Spring 2024 theme is Light. I love to create some contstraint when writing—these guardrails give you a place to start—but when I first thought about Light as a starting place, it confounded me. There were so many ways I could go with this essay—not much constraint there!

Spring Is On Our Doorstep and Writing Awaits

Spring is on our doorstep. You can feel the groundswell of energy waiting—and not patiently. Daffodils have started to burst from the soil even amidst the snow melt that still remains in places. Green is beginning to creep back into the landscape— the soft, tentative green of spring.

Wintering in the Absence of Mothering

As we head into a time of Wintering, a time of receding and regrouping, a time of cocooning and hygge, I am abundantly aware of the stillness and silence that surround me – especially since my daughter left for college. The silence really isn’t silent, though, and the stillness seems to be an illusion as well. Or maybe it’s just that my expectation of these isn’t what I am currently experiencing. 

For the Love of Letters
fierce compassion, compassion, self-compassion, writing Heather Fraser fierce compassion, compassion, self-compassion, writing Heather Fraser

For the Love of Letters

…A couple of years ago, we found letters, though. Letter after letter dating back to the 1930s, some barely legible and faded after years of being stored in a shoebox. Letters from my grandfather to my grandmother which explored his deep and abiding love for her. These letters were stunningly expressive, heartfelt, deep explorations of love.

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What My Run Reminded Me About My Writing Practice
compassion, fierce compassion, self-compassion, writing Heather Fraser compassion, fierce compassion, self-compassion, writing Heather Fraser

What My Run Reminded Me About My Writing Practice

If there is one activity that brings on my creativity and inspiration it is walking. I am a walker. Nature soothes my soul and allows me to access inner safeness in a world that feels chaotic and overwhelming at times. I like to walk alone. I like to walk with my dog. I like to walk with friends and family occasionally, but mostly it’s just me on my walks and all of my parts that need some soothing.

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