Live Virtual Group Session: 12PM EST January 19th 2024

23 Comments

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this session!

For this session we took a close look at “Never One Thing ” by May Erlewine, posted below.

Our prompt was: “Start with ‘I am…’”

Participants are warmly encouraged to share what you wrote below (“Leave a Reply”), to keep the conversation going here, bearing in mind that the blog of course is a public space where confidentiality is not assured.

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Please join us for our next session Friday January 26th at 12pm EST, with more times listed on our Live Virtual Group Sessions.

Lyrics : Never One Thing. By May Erlewine


I'm the underbelly, I am the claw

Never one thing no, not one thing at all

I'm a street fighter, I'm a prayer for peace

I'm a holy roller, I'm a honey bee


I am the truth, I am a lie

I am the ground, I am the sky

I am the silence, I am the call

Never one thing no, not one thing at all


I'm the underbelly, I am the claw

Never one thing no, not one thing at all

I'm a street fighter, I'm a prayer for peace

I'm a holy roller, I'm a honey bee


I am hope, I am defeat

I am broken, I am complete

I am the grace, I am the fall

Never one thing no, not one thing at all


I'm the underbelly, I am the claw

Never one thing no, not one thing at all

I'm a street fighter, I'm a prayer for peace

I'm a holy roller, I'm a honey bee


I am the beggar, I am the queen

I am the end, I am the means

I am the hammer, I am the wall

Never one thing no, not one thing at all


I'm the underbelly, I am the claw

Never one thing no, not one thing at all

I'm a street fighter, I'm a prayer for peace

I'm a holy roller, I'm a honey bee


I am a victor, I am the loss

I am a profit, I am the cost

I am the salve, I am the sting

Never, no never, no never one thing


I'm the underbelly, I am the claw

Never one thing no, not one thing at all

I'm a street fighter, I'm a prayer for peace

I'm a holy roller, I'm a honey bee


I am a mother, I am the child

I am the meek, I am the wild

I am the witch, I am the saint

I am alive, never one thing


I'm the underbelly, I am the claw

Never one thing no, not one thing at all

I'm a street fighter, I'm a prayer for peace

I'm a holy roller, I'm a honey bee


I am the lion, I am the swan

I am the bull, I am the fawn

I am a woman, I am the ring

I am my own, never one thing


I'm the underbelly, I am the claw

Never one thing no, not one thing at all

I'm a street fighter, I'm a prayer for peace

I'm a holy roller, I'm a honey bee


Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Tyler Andrew Duncan

23 thoughts on “Live Virtual Group Session: 12PM EST January 19th 2024”

  1. rehavia6's avatar rehavia6

    I Am

    I am weak I am strong
    I am a mother I am a child
    I provide help I need to be helped
    I am adventurous I am cautious
    I am on my own I am a citizen
    I am tender I am tough
    I am joyful and I grieve

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  2. drcrnp's avatar drcrnp

    I am. I started out as. I was. I will be. And one day, I am gone.
    Ephemeral I.
    Honey bee indeed, for that is my biblical name. Tenacity, industry, purposefulness. Subject to the vagaries of the winds and blossoms. Sweet nectar, hurtful sting. Always making a sound, if one is listening.

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    • andre lijoi's avatar andre lijoi

      I hear an entire life described in one line, sixteen words. The honey bee metaphor reminds us that life is very complex even when boiled down to one line. Andre

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  3. michele348's avatar michele348

    I am…

    I am a woman who was once a frightened little girl,
    fearful of conflict, disagreement,
    and the impermanence of the future.

    Through climbing the scattered and rocky steps of life…
    stepping in and around loss, disappointment, and victories…
    I have found my course where the path
    has somewhat leveled out.

    I am full of hope…
    hope that there remains good in this world,
    a goodness that, at times, remains buried under
    layers of hate and prejudice,
    that there exists a conscience that struggles to rise to the surface,
    allowing us to see the light and the path.

    I am full of questions… the whys of living,
    the pondering of the actions of people
    who were to lead others out of poverty and destruction,
    but instead, lead them down the rabbit hole
    to their demise.

    I am a rebellion in waiting, wanting answers to my questions,
    wanting to see results,
    to see those who are suppressed by their color or position in life,
    rise to the top of the boiling pot of humanity
    and finally, achieve freedom, justice,
    and acknowledgment of their existence.
    Does not the blood of each of us
    stain the earth red?

    I am reverent,
    I pray to my Creator,
    acknowledging my faults and weaknesses,
    and at times
    my helplessness.
    He looks down upon this world
    and sees our turmoil, our strife…
    man against man,
    man against Mother Earth
    who tries to give sustenance
    but is weakened under her
    immense burden and mistreatment.

    Lord, I will keep on with the struggle
    and hope my cries are heard.
    To You be all glory,
    as I hang on dearly
    to my faith in You.
    I am but your servant,
    awaiting your call.

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  5. al3793's avatar al3793

    I am…

    I am a seeker of peace
    an apprentice to the builder of peace
    I am
    willing to risk the under belly
    vulnerable as it may be
    in the animal world
    a target of the predator…

    The lion lives with the fawn
    and the swan floats past
    the bull perched on the winter pond’s bank
    heedless to what happens on the streets nearby.

    I am not saint
    often residing in the space between the wicked and the good
    yet willing to risk bringing those who reside
    at the margins together.

    I am a seeker of peace
    an apprentice to the builder of peace
    the only way close
    I am certain

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  6. Elizabeth's avatar Elizabeth

    I am perfection and
    I am a flawed human being
    I am fully formed and
    I am a work in progress
    I am fiercely independent and
    I am deeply dependent
    I am the past and the future
    I am the present

    There are many things that I am not and
    I can become them
    Because I have been given free will
    Because I am

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    • michele348's avatar michele348

      Welcome back,Elizabeth! So eloquently done in the shadow of our session’s song. So much conveyed in a streamlined collection of words! You are you…and the world would not want anything less.

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      Reply
    • andre lijoi's avatar andre lijoi

      Elizabeth, your speaker took me deeply back into the meaning of the song. The works in progress that we are resonates with me as does the deeply spiritual that we can become many things because we are” given free will, because I am.”

      I am glad you were with us on Friday. I look forward to your presence and the insights you share. Andre

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      • Elizabeth's avatar Elizabeth

        Andre, thanks for the warm welcome back this session and the previous session. Glad the “works in progress” resonates with you. Also, happy you picked up on the spirituality. I actually tamped down the spirituality/religion before writing those last lines, so it would not feel overboard, but accessible.

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  7. Elizabeth's avatar Elizabeth

    Michele, thanks for your reply and the welcome. It feels so nice to be back with the group. I have much appreciation that it is here for all of us. Looking forward to continue to read your pieces(I am amazed what you can write in such a short period of time).
    Elizabeth

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