Have you ever been surprised by unexpected kindness?
How do you stay open to the future without discounting what’s come before?
Has gratitude ever helped you pivot your perception from a loss into a gain?
In Morning Fuel, Becky Galli explores questions like these – one for each day of the year – along with musings, meditations, and advice for how we can meet life’s challenges with openness and grace. Indeed, Galli has faced many hardships: the death of her brother when he was seventeen, parenting two children with special needs, and coming to terms with her own paralysis. Despite these difficulties, Galli has thrived, finding optimism in her friends, family, and within herself.
A Baltimore resident since 1983, Galli began her writing career in 2000 with articles in The Baltimore Sun. She hasn’t stopped writing since. In addition to columns that ran in The North County News and The Towson Times, Galli published a memoir, Rethinking Possible, in 2017. She also shares columns and musings with subscribers in her “Thoughtful Thursdays” series.
Galli took time to speak with The Fishbowl about the process of writing Morning Fuel and to share some advice about finding positive ways to engage with the world.
Baltimore Fishbowl: The book is structured according to a calendar year, with one entry for each day. Does this structure reflect the process you used to write it?
Rebecca Faye Smith Galli: I’ve always been a fan of daily morning readings. They have helped me get through some tough times. After the publication of my memoir Rethinking Possible, I was often asked, “How do you do it? What helps you cope?” Morning Fuel is one answer as it offers quotes, mantras, and stories I’ve written or retold over the last 24 years that continue to strengthen and guide me.
As I began gathering my favorite stories and collecting material for new ones, I found it helpful to consider the seasons since nature has a prominent role in most of my work. I first grouped entries and put in Word files labeled by month. Then I created one Word file to house all edited documents to give me quick access to the body of work if I needed to check for duplication of thoughts, phrases, or attribution.
After about 100 entries, Excel became my new best friend. I realized I needed help in tracking, so I created a spreadsheet that numbered each entry, its title, month, and word count. Later as I reviewed the entries from the reader’s perspective, I added columns to include quote attributions as well as friend and family names so I could sort and sequence those references in a thoughtful way.
BFB: You include quotations and ideas from several philosophers and wellness experts throughout the book. What are books that you return to over and over? Which authors do you consistently recommend to others?
RFSG: I love authors who offer thoughtful takes on life, who meet life head on and aren’t afraid of asking the hard questions or giving a vulnerable response. Some of my favorites include: Anne Lamott, Gretchen Rubin, Mark Nepo, Sarah Young, Richard Rohr, C.S. Lewis, Melanie Beattie, James Clear, Kelly Corrigan, Shane Parrish, John C. Maxwell. I read and reread their work, rotating periodically.
BFB: Family is central to the book, and nearly every entry involves at least one of your family members. How did your living relatives feel about being featured? Was everyone on board? Did you allow them to provide feedback during your writing process?
RFSG: Fortunately—or unfortunately—my family is accustomed to being featured in my writing. After my paralysis, my marketing career pivoted to writing when in 2000, The Baltimore Sun published my first column about playing soccer with my son—from the wheelchair. The next published piece was about his first wrestling match and launched my From Where I Sit column where I regularly wrote about family life. My first book, Rethinking Possible: A Memoir of Resilience told the full story of my life and included theirs.
I never considered it unusual to include my family in my writing. As a PK (Preacher’s Kid), I grew up with my antics often becoming a sermon illustration. My goal, however, is to use my father’s approach and recount each one with accuracy, relevancy, and great heart. The last thing I would ever want to do would be to make a family member uncomfortable.
BFB: One major theme in the book involves the importance of being able to change your perspective to deal with the challenges life throws at you. What have you found to be the most effective technique (or techniques) to facilitate a shift in perspective?
RFSG: Acceptance is the key to shifting perspective, in my experience. When a new challenge comes my way, I first decide what I need to accept, even if it’s, ‘I don’t know’ or “I need help.” Then comes the tricky part—deciding what can be done this day about that issue. If possible, I act or make a plan. However, if there’s nothing more I can do, I place it gently on a shelf in my mind out of the center of my thinking so I’m not looking through it. I allow other parts of my life to come into focus, prompting a perspective shift.
One of my favorite exercises that helps elevate my perspective is:
Even though________ (the unwanted circumstance) I can still________(name a present action or focus that’s available despite the circumstance)
If I’m still having trouble shifting my perspective, I try to find something to be grateful for—a magenta sunrise, progress on a lengthy project, or even remembering to break down the boxes for this week’s recycling.
BFB: So much of the book involves memories from your own childhood. What was it like uncovering those memories? Were there stories you had forgotten that re-emerged through the process of writing Morning Fuel? What was that experience like?
RFSG: It was an adventure, for sure! Many of the Morning Fuel readings are family classics: April 28: “No, I love you,” is a story my father told when I was seven and my sister Rachel was three. It was raining and Rachel had asked him with those mischievous eyes of hers if she could go outside to play. Dad looked outside and playfully answered, “Yes. Sure, honey.” Shocked, she asked again, and then again, but our father continued to give the same response. Finally, she said with a quiver in her voice, “Daddy, you don’t love me!”
What a message that story has been to me through the years—parenting my four kids and now watching my kids parent their own– about the importance of setting boundaries and how those limits can show our love.
Writing about that scene brought it back to life –Rachel’s impish eyes, Dad’s playful smile, the huge hug they both shared after Dad told her that he was teasing and that of course she couldn’t go outside. It made me cherish my family home a little more and miss my father, now deceased, and my sister, now 800 miles away, even more.
BFB: Do you keep a daily journal? What role does writing play in your life when you are not actively working on a manuscript?
RFSG: I do keep a journal, but don’t hold myself to “daily.” After a bout of sepsis and a seventeen-day hospital stay in 2018, I grew impatient with my recovery progress. I had little energy and kept experiencing post-hospital complications. I felt like I was on a loop, never progressing forward, living the same day over and over. So, I got a beautiful spiral notebook and started journaling in seven areas:
Body, Life, Mood, Goals, Accomplishments, Gratitude, Insights
With a journal, I could review the previous entries and track my progress. I had EVIDENCE of progress—I didn’t have to rely on my feelings (or memory!) alone. Granted, sometimes my goals were small: Sleep seven hours. Drink eight glasses of water. Exercise ten minutes. But it gave me a wonderful feeling of success to check those boxes.
I usually journal after my morning readings. The process keeps my mind in gear, ready to capture insights or inspirations from my morning readings that later become fodder for Thoughtful Thursdays or other writing.
BFB: If you could share one piece of advice with your younger self, what would it be?
RFSG: Stay possibility-driven and hold plans lightly. Trust more in the process and worry less about the progress.
Events for Morning Fuel
The Ivy Bookshop
October 26, 2024 10am-12pm, details here
Barnes & Noble Pikesville
November 2, 2024 2 PM to 6 PM
Baltimore County Public Library Cockeysville
Nov 7, 2024 6:30-7:30
