Laura Smith Writer

Category: Nonfiction

  • Balancing Act

    It has been a very busy few months. I started a new job with a long commute and began teaching a course on the Divine Comedy for adult learners while attempting to maintain my fitness routines, a relationship and juggling doctor’s appointments and shoveling the two feet of snow we have at the moment. That was…

  • Resolve This

    Resolution – a resolve, a decision or determination. The act of resolving or determining upon an action, method, procedure etc (dictionary.com). It is New Year’s Eve, and you know what that means. Millions of people will resolve to get fit, quit smoking, publish a world class novel, find the meaning of life, and discover the…

  • Compassion Is For Sissies

    I made it through Thanksgiving, and as a long time vegetarian recently turned vegan, it has become increasingly harder with each passing year. I cannot stand to see the freezer filled with Butterballs. But I shied away from writing about the mass of feelings surrounding the deaths of millions of birds and the resulting pictures…

  • Spiritual Adventuring

    I cannot remember where I heard the term, “spiritual adventuring,” but it struck me, enough to stop what I was doing and write it down. This blog post has been sitting here, blank, for at least a month, with only the title. As I write these words, I do not even know what the end…

  • Returning to Center: What To Do When My Practice Derails

    I have not been writing. I can feel the deep loss of this important part of my daily spiritual practice. Three weeks ago I started a temporary job in my chosen field, which will last until Christmas. I have been underemployed for a few years now, so the position was welcomed and it has proven…

  • Revising My Life

    I just completed a workshop in which the first five pages of my young adult novel, were constructively critiqued by other writers (First Five Pages Blog). It was a valuable experience. I have never enjoyed revision; once I am done with a piece, and the novelty has worn off, it is time to move on…

  • Engaging in Controversy

    I know I shouldn’t do it, but sometimes the appeal is there: the act of defending one’s honor, the adrenaline, the irritation and self righteousness that surge through the body. Sometimes I just want a fight. The entire interaction is covered in my other blog: Grateful Girl Goes Vegan. I will not get into it…

  • Looking For Balance on the Equinox

    The autumnal equinox was yesterday, a day where light and dark are balanced. It also signals the beginning of autumn, a season here in the northeast of great change and beauty, foretelling the months of harsh weather and darkness. I asked myself, as I was on my daily run: Am I living a balanced life today?…