“He had been always about to paint a masterpiece, but had never yet begun it.”

Reading: Read the short story “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry which you can find online here. I encourage you to read slowly, putting the story aside when you find yourself connecting something in it to a situation or story from your life. Pay attention to these. Write them down in your “Stories Journal” (see below). Do your best to stay mindful in your reading, treating the story as you would a treasured friend who is telling you a story from her/his life.

Stories Journal: Create something to record your reactions while you read, what I’m calling a “Stories Journal.” And by reactions I mean your thoughts, questions, ideas, connections, inspirations, etc that cause your mind to stray during your reading, however slight. Note, we’ve learned to ignore these so practice letting these “interruptions” get your attention. Believe they have something important to tell you.

Kind Action: Take time to consider from where you draw or have drawn support, both from individuals and communities. Pick one of these, current or past, and express your gratitude in a way that honors both of you. After doing so, please tell us your experience as a blog “comment” below.

Comments Section: Posting is optional in this class. However, we’ll all get a better experience if you do as it’s the only way we have to communicate with each other. That being said, I encourage you to post and I encourage you to do so twice this week. First, introduce yourself in a way that feels genuine to you. Second, share with us a short summary of any experience you have in response to the Kind Action suggestion above. Of course, please feel free to comment on the postings of others, too.