Rarely do we get the experience to listen to a first-person account of history. Even more rare, that history is crafted by a professional storyteller into a powerful performance. Jim Gregory, Storyteller and Performing Artist, presents his powerful first-person account of a young white man’s activism in the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. Storytelling Performance at …Read More
Blog
Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy (Broken Heart Syndrome) ~ Mind-Body Connection
If you have ever had any doubt about the mind-body connection or the effect of emotional stress on your system, scientists have “discovered” the Broken Heart Syndrome. Named from the Japanese “tako tsubo” (octopus trap), the syndrome causes weakness and bulging at the apex of the heart making it look like an octopus trap and causing …Read More
What We Build ~ Sarah Kay
There once was a young girl who happened upon a construction site. She approaches a man working and says curiously, “Excuse me. What are you doing?” “Can’t you see?” he says impatiently, “I’m laying bricks.” As she walks along, she sees another man doing the same thing. She approaches and says, “Excuse me. What are …Read More
Black-Eyed Peas, Tradition, and Luck
Recalling his mother’s New Year’s Day black-eyed peas recipe, Michael W. Twitty traces this legume back to the Middle Passage and its roots in Africa, recognizing it as a seed of Black resilience. When my mother was still here in body, she made a small pot of black-eyed peas every New Year’s Day. The pot …Read More
Burnout Recovery
In 2007, I was burnt out–physically exhausted, emotionally drained, and cynical about the future. The daily grind of the hospital had left me with tattered ends. Everyday seemed to be the same. There was little sense of purpose. I decided to make some changes. Vacation helped, but then I returned to the same daily grind. …Read More
Florida Storytelling Festival 2020
“You are like family,” I said to Morgen Reynolds last year at the Florida Storytelling Festival in Mt Dora, Florida. “I see you once a year for a reunion.” That sounds a little odd at first, but I was expressing the comfort of seeing someone you know after such a long time. We have listened …Read More
Dancing through the Years
As the 2010’s comes to a close, it’s natural to look back on what has moved us. Here’s a fun video review of the evolution of dance from 1950 to 2019. From Madonna to Michael Jackson, from the Macarena to Gangnam style, music inspires dance … sometimes in crazy ways. When the boredom sets in …Read More
Hair Love ~ Animated Story
“Life is too short to have boring hair.” Storytelling is a powerful vehicle to convey emotion. Matthew A. Cherry goes beyond words with a short animated film that is virtually silent. “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart” ― Helen …Read More
Holidays ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Holidays by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The holiest of all holidays are thoseKept by ourselves in silence and apart;The secret anniversaries of the heart,When the full river of feeling overflows;–The happy days unclouded to their close;The sudden joys that out of darkness startAs flames from ashes; swift desires that dartLike swallows singing down each wind that blows!White …Read More
Character of the Happy Warrior ~ William Wordsworth
Character of the Happy Warrior ~ by William Wordsworth Who is the happy Warrior? Who is he That every man in arms should wish to be? —It is the generous Spirit, who, when brought Among the tasks of real life, hath wrought Upon the plan that pleased his boyish thought: Whose high endeavours are an …Read More