Here are a few of the writing programs that I have taken in the past year.

I have been buying a lot of books lately for my brand new granddaughter, Frankie and I felt inspired to create a GRANDMA approved list for anyone else that is wanting to build a meaningful home library for their little ones with books that will show them the world, other families, different traditions, and beliefs, showing the next generation that …

I suppose sometime I will grow old, with happiness. Holding my breath, as I do in burning cold water, I dive to the bottom, sometimes stopping, sometimes swimming, sometimes treading water, or simply moving my hands back and forth, only to keep still, forever curious about something swimming by a sea scallop, an angelfish, a broken shell caught by the …

“beneath the surface, lay the dark, frigid, salty, unknown,” maryann

Writing helps heal, inspire, and celebrate self, family, and community. 

We all need a little love.Make a donation, and we will mail you or someone you love a hand-painted, one of a kind, watercolour heart. Each heart is hand painted by Mary Ann Burrows, , then mounted on a white 3 1/2 ” square acid-free art card, and signed on the back. Bonus-PLUS, while they last, you will receive a …

Store-bought tomatoes don’t compare to a freshly picked tomato taste -especially when the tomato is from your garden.I anxiously wait for the first bite of a toasted tomato sandwich all winter. I make it into a celebratory event. I buy the best sourdough bread, toast it perfectly in a vintage flip-side electric toaster, generously smother it with Real mayonnaise. I …

Sunflowers Delightful flowersof the sun. full of wondrousstorm stories wide brimmedhappy, round faces, Sun Goddessesstuffed with seeds; the new life,for next year. Celebrating,dancing, Snickering stalks,Oh, how I love my waving friends,always thrilled to see me.

During the pandemic, I came across an organization connecting women on the outside with women inside prison. I began writing poems to incarcerated women.  I felt afraid, but throughout my life, I have found the most beautiful gifts when I’ve leaned into fear or pushed myself to do something that felt uncomfortable. I’m not going to lie; I was hesitant. I …

I was honored to be considered among 15K entries and short-listed in the Ebracce UK Poetry contest. I was one of two Canadians on the list. The poem I entered was about Persephone called The Hope of Reemergence. This was the very first poetry contest I have ever entered. Rolling up my sleeves now… lol Check out the contest here. …

How Journal Writing Can Support a Life of Wellness, Creativity, Meaning, and Purpose. This is the third book I have co-authored with a group of coaches and experts Dr. Eric Maisel and Lynda Monk I feel so honored to be part of this project.   The first book was The Creativity Workbook for Coaches and Creatives: 50+ Inspiring Exercises from Creativity …

A Sunday Poem – Please feel free to share with this link and the following citation. Mary Ann Burrows, “Pieces of Light”

Let’s create a ceremonial bridge to help us go from our working mind to our creative mind.

A great site with that can help you find the nearest forest trail Check it out

What a wonderful, tantalizing idea! 

A little about me and Creativity.

Have you seen your soul this past year? I have. She arrived at the pandemic with a great heart, despite a few detours. She now lives in a place unmade by humans, with a cup of the best coffee in her hands and her two dogs at her feet. She learned how to come out and play in places she …

Dearest light,  star and love  on the other side of dark. calling to me  spreading your warmth like a blanket across the morning fields. You are why  I wade through  endless cool shadows of flickering fingers,  that tease me out of an unlit life and into your waiting arms.  Finally, I can stop.  and meet myself,  right where I am, …

“Sing Heav’nly Muse, that on the secret top Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire “. (1.6-7) John Milton, Paradise Lost. This is a quote from the 1600’s epic poem, Paradise Lost, by John Milton. In these first lines, Milton is not only stating the theme for his very long poem, but he is also asking for heavenly guidance and inspiration. …

I’ve been reading John Milton’s Epic poem Paradise Lost for my English Lit class.  Not sure if you remember this piece of literature from the 1600s but at first, I found it super hard to understand; in fact, I could not understand a single word of it. The final exam was based on this poem and was worth 30% of …

ALLOW PATHWAYS: We can’t grow flowers in the dead of winter. The same goes for our creativity. We need to create an environment inside of our minds that is lush, fertile and nourished so that new pathways can form and our brilliant new ideas have a place to grow roots and flourish. But first we need to empty out the …

“We all need to find the time and place to exhale.” Have you checked out my story on Elephant Journal yet? It’s a 5 minute read. If you like it, please give me a heart on the story and share – here’s the link ELEPHANT JOURNAL

Little Sacred Plant Practice  Use this exercise as a way to discover presence.  If you can’t go out in nature, bring a plant into your house.  If you give attention to a plant, it will thrive. A plant is energy. A plant heals. Water it. Feed it. Talk to it.  Become still in its presence  and sense its aliveness. A plant …

Finding Your Stillness  Before we write in our forest journal, we need to be still.  What is stillness and why is it so important to find it before we write in our journal?  Our stillness guides us into nothingness and brings us closer to our hearts. This is the place where our soul speaks to us. When we are still, we hear. The …

rated #1 NEW RELEASE ON AMAZON for PSYCHOTHERAPY Discount code: Save 20% on book pre-orders with this discount code – SME04  I was invited to write a chapter in the book Transformational Journaling for Coaches, Therapists and Clients; A Complete Guide to the Benefits of Personal Writing. There are so many benefits to sharing in a group atmosphere and also in …

Come and take a short walk with me in the forest as I talk about my own creative process.

I have had a few muses in my life, but one woman that sits close to my heart is Irene. I love this woman. Unfortunately, she no longer walks the earth. We met when she was in the final decade of her life. She was born on April 18, 1920. The first day I met her, I felt like I …

Check me out on Instagram. I’m having so much fun making reels – The latest one was from today. Mayor George Harvie popped by this morning and presented me with my award for the Banner contest 2020. I created the design for this year’s community banner in honour of the farm land and the farmers. I live on 72 acres …

I wrote this story for Sparkling Silvers – a website that celebrates women, sharing the inspirational stories of their journey to gray hair. Click the link below to read my Sparkling Silvers story. “My story is so much more than about going gray. It is about allowing nature to grab hold of me and show me the real meaning of …

This is where I  live.  Right here, inside the vibrancy  of the sky’s reflection in a puddle of  Westcoast rainwater surrounded by weathered  winter grass off the  beaten pathway.  -Mary Ann Burrows 2021-

If we live in a world where almost everything is ephemeral, then what matters? The answer is simple: now. This matters. This moment, now. matters. Being a good person and doing the right thing, small or large, matters now. Living your life with full integrity. matters. Living slowly not fast, so you have time to think creatively and make the …

I am here forEVERYTHING.The carnivals.The masquerades.The rainy days.The blue parades.The Beef Bourgogne.The ocean waves.The scent of Hugo aftershave.The winter sun.The sands of gold.The lambs. The lions.The days of old.The thunderheads.The lightning rods.The sunny days. The firing squads.The births.The deaths.The falls. The cries.A lovely smilefrom someone’s eyes.The big bass drum.The violin.The times we lose. The times we win.The riverbank.The butterflies. when I hear a baby cry. The …

Want to grow something delicious and nutritious in your kitchen? Seriously, anyone can grow Broccoli Sprouts. It’s so easy. Broccoli sprouts are loaded with fiber and protein and contain very few calories. They also contain anywhere from 10 to 100 times as much glucoraphanin — the nutrient becomes sulforaphane — as the mature vegetable. Their biggest benefit is that they reduce INFLAMMATION. These tiny sprouts are bursting …

Lay  your sweet body at the horizon,  in the light below  the dark clouds.  Naked, nameless,  broken, bare, chest to the heavens,  arms stretched wide open.  Stripped  of titles,  accomplishments, failures. Lay against the world,  unafraid  of your emptiness,   released of who you think you are  and  who others believe you to be. Without  your things, beliefs, meaning, stories.  With …

The Banner for the Community Banner contest – I won ! I’m so excited. Congrats to all of the winners. Thank you to the corporation of Delta.

WINTER CHALLENGE EVENT – Take a Hike Foundation is a very special organization that I believe makes a huge difference. Take a Hike partners with public school districts in BC to engage vulnerable youth in a full-time mental health and emotional well-being program embedded in an alternate education classroom. They take the youth outside and into the forest, camping and …

Pen to paper…nothing. I took a big swig of my tea.

The 1950’s Remington clickety-clacks, whizzzes, zips and dings. Chik-chik-cha-chik-chik-chika-chik-cha-chik-Ding-ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip-Chik-chik-chik. I am in LOVE.

Don’t stop after posting the black square. Black Lives Matter. Please stand in solidarity. Also educate yourself and if you have the means, please financially support the organizations that support education, social and racial justice, fight against racial inequality and offer solidarity to the Black community. Take the time do the work and research where to send your support. #blacktuesday

My hope is that this all of this suffering in the world right now will break us so wide open that eventually there will be no partition between our own bodies and the body of the world.  This force, this breaking down and breaking apart needs to continue until it can take root inside each one of us and insist …

WElCOME to my workshop. This is my private, creative, and very sacred, special space. It took a long time to get here and I am so very grateful that I have this place in my life.  Having a sacred space in which you can feel free to create in is valuable but, trust me,  this wasn’t always the case. When …

There is something special that transpires through the consistency of writing, every day. Crappy or not, still write. Show up and put pen to paper and the rest will come. Just do it applies here. It doesn’t need to be a best-selling novel. It just needs to be done. It all matters. This keeps your brain in the game.