For a long time, my best friends were dead people. Mysterious and intangible dead people. And while I am unsure of the exact origin, I suspect that my fascination began around the age of four with trips to the local cemetery where my grandmother and I would eat peanut butter sandwiches among the secluded tombs,Continue reading “Tales of torture and haunting intangibility…”
Author Archives: Jeanie Stephens
Two weeks in glorious hell and back…
Two weeks ago, I was spending my last days in a cheap smelly Michigan motel room looking forward to the conclusion of one of the most growth-inducing experiences of my life. A little over a week before that, I was sitting alone in the same room wondering what happened. I had left my friends’ houseContinue reading “Two weeks in glorious hell and back…”
10 Practices for the New Year…
If you’ve ever wanted to change your life or a specific element of your life, whether it be your relationship, job, health, or finances, then you know that real change is almost never easy. So, what do you do? What factors are holding you back and how do you overcome them to make the shift? Continue reading “10 Practices for the New Year…”
Not inside our things, but inside of us…
Tomorrow, we embark on a new year and with it will come (presumably) new experiences. For some of us, it may even bring a few new goals, although getting out of 2020 alive looks to be at the top of most people’s list. It’s been a difficult year, to say the least…..a year of devastatingContinue reading “Not inside our things, but inside of us…”
A Thanksgiving moment…
It’s the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S. and for some people, this has come to signify the beginning of a period in our nation’s history during which the “white man” brought death and turmoil to the land’s native inhabitants. Already this morning, I have seen countless memes pop up all over social media inContinue reading “A Thanksgiving moment…”
An invitation from a friend…
Despite the general message and reason for this blog, let me assure you that I am no expert at letting go. Quite contrarily to that and truth be told, I have spent the majority of my life trying to hold on. But loss does not discriminate. No matter how emphatically we try to hold onContinue reading “An invitation from a friend…”
I dreamt of feathers… (a poem)
I dreamt of feathers dark and warm wrapping around my naked form And eyes so sharp they pierced my soul and fed me all I ached to know For in the grasp of claws as strong and unrelenting as love long gone I knew no struggle no fear nor fight upon the rapture of theContinue reading “I dreamt of feathers… (a poem)”
My own part in things…
It was probably the third or fourth call from him in the past hour. I didn’t even bother to say hello when picking up the phone. In fact, I didn’t say anything. He did. “Miss divorced fat old white female, you brought this one on yourself with your pigheadedness. You asked for everything you’re getting.Continue reading “My own part in things…”
Inside the coronavirus cocoon…
In the course of a few weeks, the world has changed….and I’m realizing more than ever how important it is that we let go, adapt, and innovate. This year has been a challenge for me from the start. Four days into the year, my car window was busted out and about $2400 worth of cameraContinue reading “Inside the coronavirus cocoon…”
Monica Mason: Painting the fire inside…
A little over two months ago, I interviewed a former university professor, philanthropist, and working artist about her ongoing work, “The Community Portrait Project.” The full day of exchange and comradery that resulted between Monica Mason and me led to the writing and publishing of my favorite story, to date, on a local artist. AfterContinue reading “Monica Mason: Painting the fire inside…”
Lifting a foot…
My experience was that I had to change something. I had to let go. I had to let go of whatever hopes and dreams to which I was still clinging and create something new. The old hopes and dreams were all dead and I knew it, but I still had been clinging to the ideaContinue reading “Lifting a foot…”
Dear World…
I understand that you like to dictate what I should do with my life for the sake of mere survival, but we no longer live in a time of hunters and gatherers. We live in a time of creators. We live in a time where we are no longer simple reactionary beings subject to theContinue reading “Dear World…”
Out of the forest…
Whatever is strongest and largest in me called to you through the forest at night. I could see the dark color of your coat as you trekked your path in the fog and it seemed that we would never meet. At times, I could hear you so loud and clear that I could almost touchContinue reading “Out of the forest…”
Emerald Views…
The following collection of photographs was assembled from a series of images taken in the summer of 2010 and 2011 during two separate trips to Ireland.
Jeanie Unbottled 