Pay attention . . . for at the very moment you are questioning your worth, the quiet teachers will be everywhere . . . So if you see me on the street, cupping something as I lean into the wind, don’t be shy. Come over . . . For it’s God I’m carrying, or at least that portion of God we call the soul . . and I will calm your fear of what’s chasing you . . . and perhaps together we can open our small flames to the sun. (paraphrased from Mark Nepo)
Listen to your life! See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness of it . . . because in the last analysis all moments are holy moments and life itself is grace . . . (Buechner)
This morning I woke up not feeling stellar, old aches of the body and the heart too near the surface. I kinda grumpily did the leg exercises I do before I get out of bed (in order to make sure my knees actually start off in the same direction when I get up), and struggled to the coffee maker in less than a positive, hopeful mood. Checked the phone to see if there were any overnight epiphanies, and indeed there was one, the following lovely tribute from a dear friend who had asked to mention this blog in a talk she was giving to a women’s group on storytelling. It touched me so deeply that I asked her permission to share some of it with you:
. . . lives with lotsa animals. Over the years I have known her propensity to own, or just care for cows, goats, chickens, guineas, dogs, cats, even her recent reference to a ‘scarlet snake’ who wriggled across her porch to the great interest of her most recent dog rescue, Hank.
Recalling our last meeting where we heard stories of ______’s family in the early church and from _____ about the importance of the Sego lily bulbs to the early pioneers, your planning committee has been intrigued by ‘story telling’ . My friend Helen is a supurb story teller and has said, at the end of her blog on the topic, that “perhaps the great tradition of ‘storytelling’ has suffered in the midst of our technological advancements and in our current cultural climate” BUT in some places it is still alive and well like in our annual Storytelling Festival, or in Helen’s next trip to the National Storytelling Center and Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. The Appalachian mountain cultures where she grew up have a long history of stories handed down from one generation to another. Helen’s memory is full of stories from her great grandmother, her grandmother and her mother that were told to her from a very young age and continued until a few years ago when her mother passed through the veil. And she expresses so clearly to us at this time of social media that we are finding new ways to tell our stories — and to listen. She says that she “knows that telling and listening to stories about each others’ lives, both roles being equally important, are vitally important to claiming and valuing who we are, who we have been, and who we will be. So today let’s celebrate OUR stories! And tell them as much as we can, especially to our children. Otherwise, how will they ever know about us and the ‘good ol’ days’? Listen to others, too. Helen says that “nothing can be a greater gift.”
For those of you who might be interested in exploring the stories and the insights of my friend Helen, she welcomes you to her blog “restbesidethewearyroad.com”. Her stories and the pictures she includes are a joy to see and often give us things to think about as we go about our daily business.
I eliminated many of the really kind things my friend said in the beginning of her talk since they sounded kinda self-serving, but I have to tell you those kind things put a glow of well-being around me all day, and I cherish my friend for, first of all, believing them to be true, but also for letting me know while I’m still around to appreciate the affirmation! It seems that so often we only say the really good stuff about someone after they’re gone.
So the reason I’m sharing this with you is to encourage you to pass along the the gift my friend gave to me this day, the generosity of spirit that says, “Wow, I think you’re great, and this is why . . .” It made all the difference in the world to me today, made me feel loved and affirmed, and changed my day.
Pass it along! Give your friend the gift of a loving tribute. It will warm her heart and increase her courage as it did mine. And it will make a difference in your day as well, I betcha!