In a rush and a flutter, a flock of birds rises all together, filling the sky. Sometimes you can tell that they were startled into flight, but other times it seems that they just all decided as a group that it was time to take flight.
When have you undertaken something new as a group effort? How did you know the time was ripe to begin?
Is there anything in the world more intimidating than a blank page (or computer screen)? Infinite possibility rests in those empty spaces, which means that we must choose from infinite possibilities in order to begin.
What would you offer as just the first line of a story, poem or song?
“From the end spring new beginnings.”
—Pliny the Elder
How has an ending offered you a new beginning?
Eid al Adha, the Muslim feast of sacrifice, honors Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his beloved son to fulfill God’s command. Sacrifice is a complicated subject, and one that many of us have an ambivalent relationship to.
When have you willingly make a sacrifice for the greater good? When have you resisted the call to sacrifice when you felt it would cause unwarranted harm?
Infant primates—whether human or gorilla—are born with a reflex that makes them grasp on to whatever comes to their hands. Holding on is part of who we are from the very beginning. Letting go takes a whole lot of practice.
How are you learning to hold on or let go?
