The Paperback Life

☁️

Ever
(After “A Love Letter From The Afterlife Life” by Andrea Gibson)

Waking up, I feel the heave, as fresh lavender wafts the morning air.

The rise and fall of my chest is the only work I will do today.

Life’s impermanence taking center stage, putting on a sold out show yesterday, so suddenly.

We are given so much. Shown the real way.
We take for granted the wayfinders that lead us.
We think we lose so much, in this life.

But, the real loss is our humanity, peeled back and unwrapped.

This is the reason, more now, than I ever could have imagined, I believe, a select few are chosen, appointed by love, to shed their stardust, here on earth, so briefly.

So kindly.

Before their initiation into the eternal ancestry of holy souls.

Couriering safe passage, for all, between living hope and the deep slumber of tomorrow’s dreams.

MB Kaplan

First line written to .co’s prompt this week, Lavender

🏕️Journal Camp is here!

A gentle, guided journaling experience for your summer healing.
🌿
After walking through our son’s cancer journey — and realizing I’ve been carrying symptoms of PTSD in the aftermath— I knew I needed a soft space to land. To reflect, to process, to heal. Creating is like medicine for me. Somehow it just really helps to make something good, that may also help others, at the same time.

✨ June also happens to be National PTSD Awareness Month, and this felt like the right moment to begin again — gently.

🦋So I created Journal Camp:

→ 5 themed journaling sessions
→ 14-day cycles
→ 50+ soul-soothing prompts
→ Daily emails + a private Slack journal room
→ Weekly private podcast reflections
→ A quiet, cozy community for healing and reflection
🌿
Session 1: June 30-July 13

Let’s Get Together…yeah, yeah, yeah!: What are you arriving to camp with? What are you ready to release? Share? +more
🌿
Session 2: July 14-July 27

Letters from Camp: Write from and to different versions of yourself — a letter to your younger self, a letter from love, a letter from your future self, and more.
🌿
Session 3: August 3-August 17

A Walk In The Woods: Five Elemental Themes, earth, fire, water, air, ether–letting nature heal and ground us. And so much more.
🌿
Session 4: August 18-August 31

Camp Fire Magic: What is your wish? If you could caste a spell, what is the vision you would create for your life? +more
🌿
Session 5: September 1-September 14

Summer Reflections, Smores & More: What did this summer teach you? How are you feeling compared to the start of camp? No good-byes here +more
🌿
This is your invitation to pause. To exhale. To write your way back to yourself — one gentle prompt at a time.

Summer is for soft healing. And Journal Camp is for you. 💛

Join us: https://mantrasandcoffee.substack.com/p/somethings-brewing-in-the-journal

Yay Summer!☀️ Day 2 Summer Poetry Marathon!

warm rays first thing
no more cold drafts or bracing
for icy winds
only soft air, the kind
that ease every heartstring

mb kaplan

Let’s write, friends and celebrate our words, each other and the season! SUMMER!😎

🪶

New Post!
Exploring gratitude, mindset and doorways!

mantrasandcoffee.substack.com