Welcome

Let me share with you why I called my blog A Body Story. First and foremost, I am eternally fascinated by the challenge of living as a spiritual, emotional, sentient being in a physical body. It’s tough to be incarnate! I was raised and educated to exalt my intellect and my spirit above all else; the body was supposed to take care of itself, pretty much, with the help of doctors as necessary. Much of my life’s journey in the past decade has revolved around coming to understand our bodies’ deep wisdom, our one-ness and wholeness. If you’ve read the blog at all, you won’t be surprised when I admit that my relationship with my body has been complicated: I’ve been prone at times to eat (sugar!) or drink (wine…) too much, I struggle with weight and self-esteem. Yet I dance like a dream, love to move, and have been gifted with wonderful health, everything from fertility and easy pregancies to being injury-and-disease-free thus far. So I wanted to honor this sage, extraordinary body, give her her due.

Additionally, the word “body” in creative circles refers to a body of work, and this blog surely represents that for me. I may or may not finish my novel. My desktop folders, both digital and in the third floor study, overflow with fragments–ideas, chapters, illustrated children’s stories, chunks of novels. As my daughter Lucy recently said to me, “I feel like you have trouble following through with things, where other people would just, you know, push harder.”  That’s a fair assessment. I wish I had an editor to ride herd over me because I’m great under pressure and have no fear of deadlines. But left to my own devices, my imagination bores or dawdles, or my confidence flags. Lucy’s an artist, too, so I hope she surpasses me in this regard: insisting on showing her authentic, vulnerable, unique self to the world. I hope this for all my children, that they will take the risk of putting themselves out there–there’s evidence they are already doing so. So A Body Story represents a coming-out party for my body of work to-date. I may or may not publish elsewhere, but here I have a record, and a conversation with some readers.

And lastly:  Story. Who doesn’t love a good one? Human beings are hard-wired for them, our minds writing narratives constantly, sometimes to our detriment, coming up with over-reaching tales when simple explanations will do. Some people notice colors first, or smells, or sounds. I notice stories, everywhere. Our lives are stories that we write every day, however joyful or struggle-filled they may be.

So thanks so much for visiting my blog and reading my words. It’s my pleasure to share my writing with you.  I am always grateful for your attention and support.

May your own story continue to unfold in ways that amaze you.

PS:  In addition to my writing life, I’m a freelance website designer, bringing the same qualities to my designs as I do here in A Body Story:  storytelling, humor, joy, thoughtfulness, intimacy.  I hope if you ever need help setting up a website or blog, you might take a look at my work:  hollykania.com.  Sorry for the commercial interruption, but a girl’s gotta keep up with her marketing.