Somewhere around the middle of her book of essays, Megan quotes Kafka discussing how he get more fearful as he writes. It ends with:
The only consolation would be: it happens whether you like or no. and what you like is of infinitesimally little help. More consolation is this: You too have your tools.
Megan loved the last line, and said to her it was about how books and stories and poems and art and songs and movies are tools that save us.
Later Megan would go to Prague, read the same quote from Kafka again, and was surprised when the translation read:
You too have your weapons.
At the end of the book she lists 150 of her "Tools or Weapons, Depending On Your Translation." This caught my imagination, and I started making my list right away. I have worked on this for days, refined, deleted, added. I am not sure it is 100% perfect, but I'm ready to move on, so here it is. I've not listed any movies, but instead focused on albums and songs, a couple of television series, visual art, poetry, books, and one speech. I made choices by things that stopped me in my tracks, and things that have lingered long and strong in my heart and soul. Many of these selections taught me something about creativity, or served as a creative spark. I read through the list and see how these all added up to give me the vision I carry today of what is possible in the creative life. Some of the books and poems listed here have maybe one line that stays with me: that made them worthy. Others I've revisited many, many times, still mining for gold. I have songs that meant a great deal at certain times of my life, and some that still move me no matter how many times I've listened to them. These are my tools to keep balanced, to move through difficulty, to know healing is possible, to live a grand life, to forgive.
Here is my list.
“A Blessing” James Wright
A
Course in Miracles Foundation
of Inner Peace
“A Ritual to Read to Each
Other” William Stafford
A
Tale for the Time Being Ruth
Orzeki
A
Woman’s Journey Joan Borysenko
A
Woman’s Worth Marianne
Williamson
A
Wreath for Emmett Till Marilyn
Wilson
A
Wrinkle in Time Madeleine
L’Engle
Abstraction
White Rose Georgia O’Keefe
Across
the Borderline Willie Nelson
The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain
“Air” Paul Winter
“Albuquerque Lullaby”
Dan Bern
“Alive in the World” Jackson Brown
“All Will Be Well” Gabe Dixon Band
Amazing
Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith
Kathleen Norris
“America” Simon and Garfunkel
American
Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin Terrance Hayes
The
Artist’s Way Julia Cameron
Band
on the Run Paul McCartney and
Wings
“Behind the Locked Door” George Harrison
Being
Peace Thich Nhat Hanh
“Blessed” Elton John
Blossoming
Almond Tree Vincent Van Gogh
Blue Joni Mitchell
“Buzzer” Dar Williams
Cass
County Don Henley
“The Change” Garth Brooks
“Chelsea Morning”
Joni Mitchell
“Closer to Fine” Indigo Girls
Come
Away With Me Norah Jones
“Cover Me Up” Jason Isbell
Cowgirl’s
Prayer Emmylou Harris
Crossing
to Avalon Jean Shinoda Bolen
Disrupting
Thinking: Why How We Read Matters
Kylene Beers & Robert E. Probst
“Don’t Fade Away” Willie Nelson and Brian McKnight
“Duquesne Whistle” Bob Dylan
“End of the Innocence” Don Henley
The
Faraway Nearby Rebecca Solnit
“Flower in the Rain” Jaci Velasquez
The
Fruitful Darkness Joan Halifax
Full
Moon Fever Tom Petty
Get
Closer Linda Ronstadt
Get
Up, Please David Kirby
“Girl from the North Country” Bob Dylan
Goddesses
in Everywoman Jean Shinoda
Bolen
Good
Girls Revolt Amazon Original
Series
Graceland Paul Simon
Hamilton Lin-Manual Miranda
Hasten
Down the Wind Linda Ronstadt
The
Healing Path Marc Ian Barasch
The Healing Wisdom of Africa Malidoma Patrice Some
The Healing Wisdom of Africa Malidoma Patrice Some
“Hickory Wind” Gram Parsons
“Hills Like White Elephants” Ernest Hemingway
“His Strength is Perfect” CeCe Winans
Home Dixie Chicks
Hourglass James Taylor
Hunky
Dory David Bowie
“I Don’t Want to Wait” Paula Cole
“I Drive Your Truck” Lee Brice
“If I Should Fall Behind” Bruce Springsteen
“If We Were Vampires” Jason Isbell
“In My Hour of Darkness” Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris
It’s
Always Something Gilda Radner
Initiation
Gabrielle Roth and the Mirrors
Kind
of Blue Miles Davis
Late
for the Sky Jackson Browne
“Life Itself” George Harrison
Life,
Paint, and Passion Michell
Cassou and Stewart Cubley
“Little Girl Blue”
Janis Joplin
Long,
Quiet Highway Natalie Goldberg
Love
Can Build a Bridge Naomi Judd
“Mariposa” Edna St. Vincent Millay
“Matthew” Balsam Range
“Metta Chant” Ambika
“Michelangelo” Emmylou Harris
“Mindless Menace of Violence” Robert F. Kennedy
Mozart
in the Jungle Amazon Original
Series
My
Feelings Nick Flynn
“My Man” The Eagles
“Mystery Train” Elvis Presley
The
Nix Nathan Hill
“On the Pulse of Morning” Maya Angelou
On
Writing Stephen King
“One Who Wraps Himself” Rumi
Out
of Africa (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) John Barry
“Pacific Radio Fire”
Richard Brautigan
“People Get Ready” The Impressions
Platinum Miranda Lambert
“Please Remember Me” Rodney Crowell
The
Pretender Jackson Browne
“Remember” Joy
Harjo
“The Reservation of the Mind” Sherman Alexie
Revolution
from Within Gloria Steinem
The
River and the Thread Roseanne
Cash
“Rocky Mountain High” John Denver
Roses
in the Snow Emmylou Harris
Rubber
Soul The Beatles
“Sentimental” Kenny G
“Shades of Gray” The Monkees
“Shiloh” Herman Melville
Siddhartha Herman Hesse
“Silent All These Years” Tori Amos
“Sky Blue and Black” Jackson Browne
So
Beautiful, So What Paul Simon
Soldier Charles White
Soldier’s
Heart Gary Paulsen
Songs
of the Grateful Dead Jesse
McReynolds
Southern
Blood Gregg Allman
Storm
in the Mountains Frederic
Edwin Church
“Summer, Highland Springs” Billy Joel
“Summer Rain” Johnny Rivers
“Sunflower Sutra” Allen Ginsburg
Surfacing Sarah McLachlan
Sweet
Baby James James Taylor
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” John Denver
Tapestry Carole King
The
Things They Carried Tim O’
Brien
“Throw Yourself Like Seed” Miguel De Unamuno
Tomorrow’s
My Turn Rhiannon Giddens
“Top of the Ridge”
Blue Highway
Touching
Spirit Bear Ben Mikaelsen
Transformer Lou Reed
Traveling
Mercies Anne Lamott
“Tulips” Sylvia Plath
“Unbound” Amanda and Kevin Smith
“Vienna” Billy
Joel
“Vincent” Don McLean
“Walking” Henry David Thoreau
Warrior
of the Heart Danaan Perry
“Watershed” Indigo Girls
“Where is the Love” Black-Eyed Peas
“White Man’s World” Jason Isbell
“Why Me, Lord?” Kris Kristofferson
Wild
Mind Natalie Goldberg
“Wildflowers” Tom Petty
Windy
City Alison Krauss
Women
Who Run With the Wolves
Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Zen
Mind, Beginners Mind Shunryu
Suzuki
#5 Jackson Pollack
“24 Frames”
Jason Isbell
 |
| Soldier by Charles White stopped me in my tracks. (Chicago Institute of Art) |
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