{"id":54762,"date":"2016-03-02T02:15:02","date_gmt":"2016-03-02T07:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/?p=54762"},"modified":"2016-03-02T12:03:03","modified_gmt":"2016-03-02T17:03:03","slug":"54762","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/","title":{"rendered":"Pruning the Old to Allow the New"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Susan<\/p>\n

When we wrote friend and contributor Susan Dworski<\/a> of\u00a0many decisions we had were making\u00a0to change how we worked \u2014 limiting some aspects and dreams to focus on others \u2014 she likened\u00a0it to pruning a tree: the essential process of culling and removing\u00a0branches of a shrub or tree in order<\/em> to encourage growth. Her words and photos \u00a0are as perfect as a poem:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
No matter how out of control or confabulated one’s life may seem, by careful, patient pruning of\u00a0old, extraneous dead wood, we can rediscover its natural, graceful arc across time.<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\"Susan
Susan Dworski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
And we can tap into and reclaim the health, beauty and harmony that were there all the time, waiting for us.<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
<\/div>\n
Just as we hadn’t made the connection between pruning and the essential\u00a0editing of our own lives, we hadn’t considered the idea of being\u00a0pruned<\/em> by life and loss until we stumbled on\u00a0Howard Moss<\/a>‘s extraordinary poem, “The Pruned Tree”.<\/div>\n
\n

Here is a wonderful reading by poet James Merrill, to listen to\u00a0as you read. (Original video link here<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

As a torn paper might seal up its side,<\/em>
\nOr a streak of water stitch itself to silk<\/em>
\nAnd disappear, my wound has been my healing,<\/strong><\/em>
\nAnd I am made more beautiful by losses.<\/strong><\/em>
\nSee the flat water in the distance nodding<\/em>
\nApproval, the light that fell in love with statues,\u00a0<\/em>
\nSeeing me alive, turns its motion toward me.<\/em>
\nShorn, I rejoice in what was taken from me.<\/em><\/p>\n

What can the moonlight do with my new shape<\/em>
\nBut trace and retrace its miracle of order?<\/em>
\nI stand, waiting for the strange reaction\u00a0<\/em>
\nOf insects who knew me in my larger self,<\/em>
\nUnkempt, in a naturalness I did not love.<\/em>
\nEven the dog’s voice rings with a new echo,<\/em>
\nAnd all the little leaves I shed are singing,<\/strong><\/em>
\nSinging to the moon of shapely newness.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Somewhere what I lost I hope is springing<\/strong><\/em>
\nTo life again.<\/strong> The roofs, astonished by me,\u00a0<\/em>
\nAre taking new bearings in the night, the owl<\/em>
\nIs crying for a further wisdom, the lilac<\/em>
\nPutting forth its strongest scent to find me.<\/em>
\nButterflies, like sails in grooves, are winging<\/em>
\nout of the water to wash me, wash me.<\/em>
\nNow, I am stirring like a seed in China.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, in loss and change and paring away do we grow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Thanks Susan!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When we wrote friend and contributor Susan Dworski of\u00a0many decisions we had were making\u00a0to change how we worked \u2014 limiting some aspects and dreams to focus on others \u2014 she likened\u00a0it to pruning a tree: the essential process of culling and removing\u00a0branches of a shrub or tree in order to encourage growth. Her words and…<\/p>\nRead More<\/a>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":54763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6549,6329,90,1860],"tags":[9464,9463,5473],"yoast_head":"\nPruning the Old to Allow the New - Improvised Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When we wrote friend and contributor Susan Dworski of\u00a0many decisions we had were making\u00a0to change how we worked \u2014 limiting some aspects and dreams to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pruning the Old to Allow the New - Improvised Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When we wrote friend and contributor Susan Dworski of\u00a0many decisions we had were making\u00a0to change how we worked \u2014 limiting some aspects and dreams to\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Improvised Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theimprovisedlife\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-02T07:15:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-03-02T17:03:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Susan-Dworski-tree-pruning-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"790\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1053\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sally Schneider\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@improvised_life\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@improvised_life\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sally Schneider\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sally Schneider\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2fa7e3722002ee0c5ff9fde7a0753bc4\"},\"headline\":\"Pruning the Old to Allow the New\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-02T07:15:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-03-02T17:03:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/\"},\"wordCount\":409,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Harold Moss\",\"James Merrill\",\"Susan Dworski\"],\"articleSection\":[\"mindset\",\"poems\",\"rules for living\",\"wellness\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/\",\"name\":\"Pruning the Old to Allow the New - Improvised Life\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-02T07:15:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-03-02T17:03:03+00:00\",\"description\":\"When we wrote friend and contributor Susan Dworski of\u00a0many decisions we had were making\u00a0to change how we worked \u2014 limiting some aspects and dreams to\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pruning the Old to Allow the New\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/\",\"name\":\"Improvised Life\",\"description\":\"a treasury of inspiring ideas\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"IL\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Improvised Life\",\"alternateName\":\"IL\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/logo-with-tagline-copy-rasterized-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/logo-with-tagline-copy-rasterized-1.jpg\",\"width\":456,\"height\":104,\"caption\":\"Improvised Life\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theimprovisedlife\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/improvised_life\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/signlaboratory\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/improvisedlife\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2fa7e3722002ee0c5ff9fde7a0753bc4\",\"name\":\"Sally Schneider\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6b642ac4c69dbeadf84f5d2d477d9835?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6b642ac4c69dbeadf84f5d2d477d9835?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sally Schneider\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/author\/g0llysally\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pruning the Old to Allow the New - Improvised Life","description":"When we wrote friend and contributor Susan Dworski of\u00a0many decisions we had were making\u00a0to change how we worked \u2014 limiting some aspects and dreams to","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pruning the Old to Allow the New - Improvised Life","og_description":"When we wrote friend and contributor Susan Dworski of\u00a0many decisions we had were making\u00a0to change how we worked \u2014 limiting some aspects and dreams to","og_url":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/","og_site_name":"Improvised Life","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theimprovisedlife","article_published_time":"2016-03-02T07:15:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-03-02T17:03:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":790,"height":1053,"url":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Susan-Dworski-tree-pruning-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sally Schneider","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@improvised_life","twitter_site":"@improvised_life","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sally Schneider","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/"},"author":{"name":"Sally Schneider","@id":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2fa7e3722002ee0c5ff9fde7a0753bc4"},"headline":"Pruning the Old to Allow the New","datePublished":"2016-03-02T07:15:02+00:00","dateModified":"2016-03-02T17:03:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/"},"wordCount":409,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["Harold Moss","James Merrill","Susan Dworski"],"articleSection":["mindset","poems","rules for living","wellness"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/","url":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/","name":"Pruning the Old to Allow the New - Improvised Life","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-03-02T07:15:02+00:00","dateModified":"2016-03-02T17:03:03+00:00","description":"When we wrote friend and contributor Susan Dworski of\u00a0many decisions we had were making\u00a0to change how we worked \u2014 limiting some aspects and dreams to","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/03\/02\/54762\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pruning the Old to Allow the New"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/","name":"Improvised Life","description":"a treasury of inspiring ideas","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#organization"},"alternateName":"IL","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#organization","name":"Improvised Life","alternateName":"IL","url":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/logo-with-tagline-copy-rasterized-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/logo-with-tagline-copy-rasterized-1.jpg","width":456,"height":104,"caption":"Improvised Life"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theimprovisedlife","https:\/\/twitter.com\/improvised_life","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/signlaboratory\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/improvisedlife\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2fa7e3722002ee0c5ff9fde7a0753bc4","name":"Sally Schneider","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6b642ac4c69dbeadf84f5d2d477d9835?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6b642ac4c69dbeadf84f5d2d477d9835?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Sally Schneider"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/improvisedlife.com"],"url":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/author\/g0llysally\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54762"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}