Mindful Musings

Mindful musings

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This past week, my twin boys and I were playing a mnemonic game we devised when they were in kindergarten to remember days of the week.

The verbal jousting started as a whim when I had to come up with ideas for activities for three boys under 8-years old.  One thing we could always count on was to go get waffles on Wednesdays.

Over spring break we celebrated our fictional event titled, Waffle Tour 2004, in which we traveled to a different destination in search of waffles for the day.  This led to the creation of a zine to share with friends, teachers and family in the weeks long after break had ended. 

By the end of the tour, we had gone all over Madison and declared Indie Coffee on Regent Street the winner of Waffle Tour 2004.  Indie Coffee has since produced even more types of waffles than the original three of buttermilk, chocolate and multigrain.  For the boys and I, Wednesday will always be known as Waffle Wednesday.

Musing on the process my boys used to learn the days of the week made me think of how important it is to share our memories and stories.  In fact, mnemonic defined as, "relating to the power of memory," originated from the 18th century Latin mnÄ“mÅ?n, or "mindful."

Storytelling, podcasting and the world wide web are different attempts by all of us to share stories and participate in the conversation.  As the world gets more complicated and inundated with information, it seems logical to take a break.

I will be posting these musings once a month.  Enjoy the first installment:

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Begin the story in six words:

Legend has it that Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response? “For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

Then the internet came along and a group of independent media purveyors created SMITH magazine, an online production that specializes in story projects instead of the home&garden or lifestyle sections.

SMITH announced a contest for submissions to answer the call of the six-word memoir and thousands answered.  National Public Radio covered the  Six-Word Memoirs  and I would highly suggest viewing the slide show.  You can also take a listen to the Talk of the Nation from NPR on the new book Not Quite What I Was Planning, a collection of six-word memoirs by famous and not-so-famous writers.

Smith magazine.

This web magazine has been celebrating the joy of storytelling since 2006.  The editors at Smith state it best, "SMITH is a home for storytelling of all forms and kinds, with a focus on personal narrative. We believe everyone has a story, and everyone should have a place to tell it."

I hope these six-word memoirs give you the needed break you need today.