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Contextual Moments Blog

Travel, Beauty, and Awakening

Travel, Beauty, and Awakening
by Irmgarde Brown

I just returned from a long awaited “bucket list” trip down the Danube. While waiting and planning for this trip for the past sixteen months, I felt sure this would be the cruise of a lifetime. Instead, the ship was stymied by heavy rains in Slovakia prior to our arrival that caused flooding and high waters downriver which meant our ship (run by Viking) would be unable to “fit” under the bridges along the way. My river cruise turned into a bus tour over half the time. 

On Gratitude

by Irmgarde Brown

I was told it takes about 10,000 repetitions and reminders before a child learns to say “please” and/or “thank you.” Courtesy is a lovely thing, but not automatic.  

However, does repetition translate into authentic appreciation or gratitude? Have cultural norms merely trained us to spout rote responses in the name of politeness without meaning?  

According to “Psychology Today” https://shorturl.at/o7iSV gratitude is an appreciation for what one has. How many of us are truly satisfied with life as it is, with what we own now? Am I? 

I’m working on it.

Bingo!

Bingo!
by Irmgarde Brown

Bingo!

Oh, when we hear that word resound through the room: Bingo! Some voices exultant and laughing while others are disappointed and we can hear the banter, “I was so close,” or “I just needed one more square,” and so on. We all end up in the spirit of the thing. And we want to be happy for that winner, and yet, of course, there’s that little voice inside our heads, “I wanted to win.”

This Season

This Season
by Irmgarde Brown

It’s March and once again, despite knowing this happens to me every year, when the temperature hits seventy and the flowers bust out, I think, “hooray, spring is early this year.” Until the thermostat plummets into the thirties the very next day, and I have to drag out my sweaters. Dang. When will I learn? 

Baby It's Cold Outside

Baby It's Cold Outside
by Irmgarde Brown

Last week, a friend introduced me to a wonderful book, All Creation Waits by Gayle Boss who wrote this book with her own children in mind to make the Advent season, those four weeks prior to Christmas, more meaningful than the typical chocolate coin calendars. Boss has since adapted the book for adults. Her short animal essays (twenty-five of them) beautifully capture the hours, days, and weeks prior to the numbing cold of winter each animal must endure and ultimately adapt, from turtle to chipmunk to fox and even bear. These animal stories have much to teach us about our own relationship with darkness and cold and self-preservation.  

All I Want for Christmas...

All I Want for Christmas...
by Irmgarde Brown

...is my book to sell. Or, that an elusive influencer out there would read my book and post a picture of it along with a kudo or two. Or, a producer’s friend would send him the next great idea for a film adaptation of my book! Is it too much to ask?

What is it about this time of year that has us all dreaming of sugarplums? Oh, I don’t mean real sugarplums. Look them up, they are somewhere between fruitcake and plum pudding. No doubt, it’s an acquired taste. Back in 2008, Chef Peter Greweling told NPR Host Linda Wertheimer that he thought sugarplums might wander back into popularity like they were in the 19th century. Sorry, Peter, that hasn’t happened. But I digress.

What a Day for a Daydream

What a Day for a Daydream
by Irmgarde Brown

For those who don’t remember, "Daydreamin” is a song by the Lovin’ Spoonful back in 1966. That really dates me, I know, so I might as well confess that I was still in high school. But what is odd to me is how an old tune like this one can suddenly land in my mind and not let go. It’s become a mantra of sorts.  

The main verse I sing is this one, but of course, I change the word “boy” to “girl” and my “bundle of joy” is usually an event coming up.  

What a day for a daydream 
What a day for a daydreamin' boy girl. 
And now I'm lost in a daydream 
Dreamin' 'bout my bundle of joy. 

Sequel Challenge

Sequel Challenge
by Irmgarde Brown

Here’s a surprise: I’ve started writing the sequel to Children in the City of Czars. That sounds crazy and I agree 100%. But when the story started rolling out of my head, I knew I had to hold on to the Muse as she floated by, or I might lose her.

Elizabeth Gilbert wrote a good bit about the Muse in Big Magic, Creative Living Beyond Fear. Funny, it wasn’t that many weeks ago that I wrote about Gilbert in a different vein, when she delayed the publication of her Russian book which, at the time, felt like it might impact mine. But talking about the reality of a Muse, I’m right with her. ...

The Countdown

by Irmgarde Brown

While working through all the “best practices” and advice for a successful book launch, one of the recommendations is to post a countdown. As I think about countdowns, I realize the very act of creating a countdown has layers of emotional significance. (I have to thank my AI intern for some of these ideas.)
Anticipation: Undoubtedly, this is the most indicative of how I am feeling about my new book coming out. As each day draws me closer, I can feel my insides start to murmur. It’s not a full rolling boil yet, but a kind of trembling of the waters. Most people might recognize this feeling of anticipation for a personal event in their lives, like a wedding, the birth of a child, a graduation, or a big vacation. But I can attest, a new book coming out is very much like the wait for a new baby, both in planning and in wondering how it will “come out.” God forbid someone calls my baby ugly.

Childhood Musings

Childhood Musings
by Irmgarde Brown

While promoting my first novel, Sister Jane, many people asked me if the story was true. Or worse, they’d ask if it was my life story. The answer to both is “No.” Those questions caught me off guard. If the story was true (in a factual way), wouldn’t we have heard about a miracle worker who had a “batting average” of 1000? And if it was my story, would I be out here hawking a book instead of hanging out with sick people? I’m being ultra-catty, I know, but honestly. 

Who are the Orphans?

Who are the Orphans?
by Irmgarde Brown

I am an orphan. But then, most people my age are. It’s the natural flow of life, children outlive their parents, and the baton is passed.  

My father died when I was nine and apparently, in that moment, I became a “single orphan.” I didn’t know I had a label, but I certainly knew what it was like to be raised by a single mother. In some ways, it was for the best. My father was twenty-five years older than my mother, and I believe the speed of change for a non-English speaking older gentleman would have become more challenging than bearable. It was hard enough for mother to keep up, but she did keep up until 2004, dying at ninety-one.  

Circle of Awareness

Circle of Awareness
by Irmgarde Brown
                Some years ago, my friend Nancy owned a beautiful home whose interior was decorated in the most amazing way. As far as I know, no professional designer did this work. Instead, it was Nancy herself, a lover and collector of art who had fashioned a feast for the eyes. No matter where I stood in her house, wherever I looked, something beautiful or intriguing filled my gaze. Sometimes it was a painting, but it could be a set of vases or a small figurine or sculpture, or perhaps a platter she had hand-carried from Italy. And there were family photos too, but expertly framed and perfectly placed to capture the eye and experience her family of love. With everything that she placed around the rooms, she invited guests to notice—to be aware of the surroundings, to see beauty.

Elizabeth Gilbert and Me

Elizabeth Gilbert and Me
by Irmgarde Brown
I may regret stepping into the mire of Elizabeth Gilbert’s most recent debacle over the delayed (or indefinitely suspended) release of her latest book, “The Snow Forest,” that was slated for the spring of 2024. My understanding is that the book is a family saga set in the 1930’s in Siberia, a far cry from the Western border of modern-day Russia where hell is being poured upon the Ukrainian people. And yet, because of indiscriminate “review bombs,” Ms. Gilbert has felt impelled to pull her book amidst the controversy.

Doors and Liminal Space

Doors and Liminal Space
by Irmgarde Brown
The other day, a photographer friend posted a series of door photographs from around town on his Facebook page. They were all in black and white and very moving. I remembered then that I, too, have photographed doors over the years, but rarely with any deep meaning or conscious intent. Certainly, I must have intuited how they can symbolize possibilities or new beginnings. But up until recent years, I haven’t embraced their potential for deeper significance.

I have since learned that there is a moment in between as one passes through a door, leaving one place and entering the next. It’s called liminal space, a period of transition. It's a gap, and it can be physical (like a doorway), emotional (like a divorce or widowhood) or metaphorical (like a decision).

In the Silence

In the Silence
by Irmgarde Brown

What happens in the silence?

Back in my acting school days, we were often encouraged to dwell in the small silences between sentences—to not feel compelled to speak straight through, but to allow the character to think, to consider, to ruminate, if you will. And then going even further back, I remember a one-act play, actually a “sketch”, by the avant-garde playwright, Harold Pinter, in which silences were a key aspect. Of course, the two characters were both in midlife and I was in my twenties; what did I know of broken marriages and broken lives where silence reigned? That would come much later.

An Author Posse

An Author Posse
by Irmgarde Brown
My adult son has a group of friends he started with back in middle school. We call them the posse. They laugh together, they hang together, they support each other, and yes, they get in trouble together. I thought they’d split up after marriage, or parenthood, or girlfriends, or out-of-town jobs. But no, they’re still together after fifteen years. I’m looking for an author posse. Granted, I can write alone, but the rest of it? I need a gang.

The Path to Healing

The Path to Healing
by Irmgarde Brown
Certainly, Sister Jane (and its companion novella, Sister Jane’s Lenten Journal) examines healing in a variety of ways: physical, emotional, and spiritual. In the last several months, I have been struggling with another kind of pain that requires healing—organizational trauma.  

Opposite of Faith is Not Doubt, but Certitude

Opposite of Faith is Not Doubt, but Certitude
by Irmgarde Brown
Other people have known this. I just heard it for the first time last week at my Symposium as part of the School for Action and Contemplation. And once I heard it, I knew I needed to ponder it. At the time, I assumed the phrase was original to Richard Rohr, but a quick Google search seems to give Anne Lamott the attribution, although she uses the term, "certainty." Same thing. Although Rohr's use of "certitude" has more flair. All good. I like Lamott too. 

Why a Lenten Journal

Why a Lenten Journal
by Irmgarde Brown

I don’t remember when I became intrigued by the church calendar. Certainly not while I was active in Charismatic and Evangelical churches, where the only calendars celebrated were Christmas and Easter week. At my Methodist church, we acknowledged Advent with the lighting of candles on a huge wreath (3 purple and 1 pink) but they didn’t have much meaning for me. When my late husband and I adopted our children (aged 4 & 5), we had a variety of Advent calendars, one with tiny books that told the Christmas story and two others that involved daily chocolate. I don’t think I need to say which calendars were the most popular.

Best of 2021 But It's 2022

Best of 2021 But It's 2022
by Irmgarde Brown
It was a great day, December 15, 2021. Kirkus published their list of “Best of Books for 2021,” specifically for Indie authors (that can mean anything from self-published authors to Small Press authors – like me), and there was Sister Jane, front and center. Hurrah!