tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941570355402786982024-02-07T09:49:49.773-08:00Some Daily GraceWritings from the road to happy destiny: A bit of spirituality, humor and peace, with a dose of poetry just for fun. Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.comBlogger241125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-50450970450816273872021-08-05T14:30:00.001-07:002021-08-05T14:30:14.931-07:00Road to the TCS NYC Marathon: 5. Letting go of the CramI am a crammer. Is that even a word? I look at the time I have ahead and attempt to schedule in absolutely every single class, meeting, training session, and activity that I can within that allotted time. And the end result? Sleeping through an entire beautiful afternoon because I cannot seem to move my legs and all I really want to do is scroll social media. In 94 days I need to be ready to run Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-59003704843961205522021-07-28T14:21:00.005-07:002021-07-28T14:24:50.632-07:00Road to the TCS NYC Marathon: 4. Running with LunaIt is this face that gets me out the door each and every day. It is this face that keeps me on pace (excepting squirrel fartleks and olfactory explorations). For most of my running career I have been a solo runner, maintaining a run streak for the past 2641 days by waking before the sun and heading out the door, flashlight in hand. But on May 31, 2000 I brought home this 8 year old husky Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-8185278609643534892021-07-26T09:40:00.004-07:002021-07-26T09:49:19.997-07:00Road to the TCS NYC Marathon: 3. Training in the MomentIt is summer and I am a teacher. Which means that I do not have income coming in, but I do have hours of free time to focus on my training. Less than one month from now I will return to my hectic schedule: waking at 4am to attempt a morning run, a full day of teaching followed by coaching, and concluding with an evening of planning and prepping for the next day of classes. Which leaves me very Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-35310052453858136652021-07-22T11:49:00.002-07:002021-07-26T09:49:06.005-07:00Road to the TCS NYC Marathon: 2. Taking it Easy and the Dreaded Ice bathI have the coach. I have the PT. I have three new pair of colorful Hoka One One Rincon lined up and set to go. I have a hotel room booked and will arrange a sick day. Now the training begins. The marathon is not just a race; it is a way of life for four months. I have not run 26.2 miles since November 2019, and I believe my longest long run has hovered around 15 miles (Vegan Power 25k Virtual). Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-21512485744266757232021-07-01T08:43:00.002-07:002021-07-26T09:49:33.864-07:00Road to the TCS NYC Marathon: 1. Asking for HelpI have done it before and I will do it again. The New York City Marathon. It was not my first marathon, that was Hartford in 2009, but in February 2017 I decided on a whim to put my name into the lottery for an entry. Had I run longer than 13.1 miles since 2009? Hell no! What was I thinking? I was thinking that there was no way that I would be one of the 11% whose name would be drawn for the run Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-19466822876857327562021-06-30T09:46:00.000-07:002021-06-30T09:46:25.199-07:00The Narrative of RejectionAs a writer I should be comfortable with the idea of rejection. Yet somehow it always catches me, picks me up, and slams me on the floor. I lose my breath for a minute, or hour, before regaining consciousness. It is not the rejection per say, but the narrative that I create surrounding that rejection. I cannot simply accept the rejection as is, a statement that I would not fit into the Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-39255166716508040762021-06-28T07:58:00.004-07:002021-06-28T07:58:41.712-07:00Here I go again...I know, Whitesnake. It is finally summer break. The hardest teaching year so far is behind me and I have saved up enough money to make it through the summer without working. I need this break to rest, to stay home, and to work on creating new curriculum for next year. I am setting a goal for myself to take at least an hour a day to write, be it in my journal, right here in the blog, or on myLaura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-2697826270019542442021-04-11T11:16:00.002-07:002021-04-11T11:17:18.289-07:00Abandoned Habits and Goals My goal at the beginning of 2021 was to spend time each day writing, either a short poem, a blog post, or an entry in one of the many journals strategically placed throughout my home. It is now April 11, and that goal has been thrown to the wayside amidst the stress of teaching in a pandemic, Covid outbreaks, work for classes, and my own inability to just get out of my way. I get distractedLaura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-43554832526984087782020-12-02T17:03:00.009-08:002020-12-03T10:08:29.947-08:00Creating New HabitsHow long has it been since I have written a post? The last few years have been filled with writing, with running, with teaching, and with learning. I completed a thesis about female writers and the power of phallocentric language. I began working on a master's degree in creative writing and have been writing chapters of a memoir. But I have been neglecting this blog, which has, in the past Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-80494161466930110622017-05-25T11:24:00.000-07:002017-05-25T11:25:39.424-07:00Poetry fun
Once every few weeks I play a poetry game with my creative writing class. I have a bin of words taken from various poetry books, random words that I like; dust, bamboo, spotless, sherbet...we each choose a word out of the box and use that word in a line of poetry. After the line is written we pass the word to the person next to us. My the time we have chosen four or five stanzas worth of words Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-39217384583036808262017-04-30T16:38:00.001-07:002017-04-30T16:38:37.483-07:00Finding My Play Again
When my sister and I were little we had a swing set in our backyard, complete with monkey bars and slide. We would swing across the monkey bars, do front and back flips on the side bars, and spend hours pumping our legs, swinging higher and higher trying to touch the branches of a silver maple which shaded our afternoon romps. Our young bodies became strong and agile while we played, no need forLaura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-32614007965129316312016-08-12T13:05:00.000-07:002016-08-12T13:05:16.976-07:00Writing Hiatus
It has been a busy year. I finally landed the perfect job, and spent the last 9 months learning the ropes, preparing curriculum and teaching high school students some of my favorite books, The Canterbury Tales, Othello, The Hound of the Baskervilles, in addition to some modern short stories and poetry. So I haven't been writing.
Summer is winding down, and I am now preparing for a new school Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-4684747821955644152015-08-23T14:54:00.000-07:002015-08-23T14:55:48.564-07:00Be kind to your body: lizards and pigeons included
A few weeks ago a woman posted a question on a social media platform. Apparently she had had a baby a year ago, was eating healthy, running and really trying to lose the baby weight. She had managed to lose most but the fat around her belly. How, she asked, could she get rid of that fat? It was gross and unattractive. I was saddened by this woman's hatred of her post-pregnancy body. I wrote a Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-6189817380441522502015-07-26T17:19:00.000-07:002015-07-26T17:19:10.697-07:00Rough Road Ahead
I stumbled upon this sign on my run the other morning, and I started thinking about how nice it would be if life came with warning signs. "Warning: Bitter Divorce Ahead," "Death of Beloved Pet Soon," "Job Loss Around Corner." Would I live my life any differently if I knew when the rough patches were coming? In 2008 when I quit my job to go back to school and work toward my Bachelor's degree, Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-33141251460356295682015-06-01T13:30:00.001-07:002015-06-01T13:30:06.423-07:00Bucket Lists for Dabblers
Bucket List: A list of things to do before you "kick the bucket."
I was surprised (not sure why) to find a website where people keep track of their bucket lists, and find ideas and like-minded people: www.bucketlist.org . I don't know why I have been thinking about bucket lists so much lately, possibly because I turned 42 today, and somehow feel as if I am not exactly where I am Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-29928686169512295272015-04-18T11:29:00.000-07:002015-04-18T11:29:36.081-07:00On Loss and Living
Elisabeth Kubler - Ross, in her 1969 book On Death and Dying, identified five universal stages of the grieving process: denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. To experience and then move through grief, not all stages need to be experienced, nor in a particular order. We all experience life in our own unique ways.
I have experienced all of these stages Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-47307904539333479662015-04-04T10:21:00.000-07:002015-04-04T10:33:28.746-07:00Beginner Mind
It has been a long time since I have sat down to write; my fingers miss the rhythm of the tapping on the keyboard and my mind misses the meditative state that writing induces. It is a blustery Saturday in the Berkshires; the snow is still piled up in the backyard, but Spring birds have started their morning symphony. All is well.
I have not taken the time to write, I have not given myself Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-62587279412540746002015-02-07T11:18:00.001-08:002015-02-07T11:18:03.762-08:00Balancing Act
It has been a very busy few months. I started a new job with a long commute and began teaching a course on the Divine Comedy for adult learners while attempting to maintain my fitness routines, a relationship and juggling doctor's appointments and shoveling the two feet of snow we have at the moment. That was definitely a run on sentence. I feel like a run on sentence. Balancing career, Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-55580027155864183272014-12-31T09:29:00.000-08:002014-12-31T09:29:10.922-08:00Resolve This
Resolution - a resolve, a decision or determination. The act of resolving or determining upon an action, method, procedure etc (dictionary.com). It is New Year's Eve, and you know what that means. Millions of people will resolve to get fit, quit smoking, publish a world class novel, find the meaning of life, and discover the secret to happiness, all within the next 365 days. By February 1, Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-7950357448604316552014-12-13T11:58:00.000-08:002014-12-13T12:09:40.890-08:00Compassion Is For Sissies
I made it through Thanksgiving, and as a long time vegetarian recently turned vegan, it has become increasingly harder with each passing year. I cannot stand to see the freezer filled with Butterballs. But I shied away from writing about the mass of feelings surrounding the deaths of millions of birds and the resulting pictures that filled my Facebook newsfeed. Why? Because sometimes I feel asLaura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-50021520484306930172014-11-15T13:35:00.000-08:002014-11-16T15:56:16.762-08:00Spiritual Adventuring
I cannot remember where I heard the term, "spiritual adventuring," but it struck me, enough to stop what I was doing and write it down. This blog post has been sitting here, blank, for at least a month, with only the title. As I write these words, I do not even know what the end result will be, but that is ok. By the time I hit the "publish" button, there will hopefully be a fully formed idea.Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-73766803289085220732014-11-08T11:55:00.000-08:002014-11-08T12:31:56.596-08:00Returning to Center: What To Do When My Practice Derails
I have not been writing. I can feel the deep loss of this important part of my daily spiritual practice. Three weeks ago I started a temporary job in my chosen field, which will last until Christmas. I have been underemployed for a few years now, so the position was welcomed and it has proven to be an amazing opportunity. I work with people I respect and have support in learning my craft. The Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-80689985954436181952014-10-25T12:24:00.000-07:002014-10-25T12:25:47.531-07:00Revising My Life
I just completed a workshop in which the first five pages of my young adult novel, were constructively critiqued by other writers (First Five Pages Blog). It was a valuable experience. I have never enjoyed revision; once I am done with a piece, and the novelty has worn off, it is time to move on to the next creative project. New projects induce fresh energy that accompanies the creative Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-73918714746628857332014-09-29T13:13:00.001-07:002014-09-29T13:15:20.329-07:00Engaging in Controversy
I know I shouldn't do it, but sometimes the appeal is there: the act of defending one's honor, the adrenaline, the irritation and self righteousness that surge through the body. Sometimes I just want a fight. The entire interaction is covered in my other blog: Grateful Girl Goes Vegan. I will not get into it here, other than saying that I engaged in controversy, and it felt good - until it Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94157035540278698.post-1044021520323117252014-09-25T08:33:00.000-07:002014-09-25T08:39:51.252-07:00Looking For Balance on the Equinox
The autumnal equinox was yesterday, a day where light and dark are balanced. It also signals the beginning of autumn, a season here in the northeast of great change and beauty, foretelling the months of harsh weather and darkness. I asked myself, as I was on my daily run: Am I living a balanced life today? Am I balancing the active doing part with rest and inner searching?
I have Laura Gross Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16832481483238147398noreply@blogger.com0