Skip to main content

A Story


 


I had a meeting a few months ago with a woman who wanted to hire me to write a book that would be a message of hope for children who have a life-threatening illness. 
This was a challenge for me as it was a different sort of picture book than those I’ve previously written. Plus-it was her story that I was to write. 
However, as I listened to the reasons why she wanted to share this message with children-I felt drawn to try for her. 
So I did. 
I used a lot of yoga when writing the book-I united both what I knew and what I needed to learn. I gave the child character strength and flexibility. I leaned into the discomfort of writing a book that was so clearly dealing with pain. 
I read the completed story to the woman and then gave her space to receive it. To go home and process. 
I wasn’t sure if she liked the story. Or what her family would think.
I won’t share more details of the story I wrote or the pain, hope and healing that brought her to me-as these details aren’t my story to share. But the part that I will share is her response. 

The yoga that I accessed in writing it—included one of the most potent components of the practice-listening. There are a thousand ways to listen when on the mat. When we sit in silence at the end of our practice, with eyes closed and steady breath-we are uniting with silence and connecting with stillness to-listen. I’ve learned through years of practice that this listening to relations, in relationships-off the mat, is a sacred part of yoga-from the mat and out into the world. 
But I don’t always get it right. 
It’s a lifelong practice for me. 
A few weeks went by. Then…
I received a small package from her in the mail at my writing services studio. Inside was an Angel holding a book. 
There was a handwritten note. 
It said, “…I can’t thank you enough for hearing every beat of my heart.”
I am so grateful for how this beautiful world works-that I was blessed with the humbling opportunity to listen and write the story a woman- who believes in hope and healing, wanted to share with the world. 
I continue to be blessed with grace-filled teachers. She is one of them. 🙏

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sunrises

 In early June I had my younger brother John up to a cabin.  He had come a long way to be there with me.  Where he traveled from, the sun rose over the ocean every day and set near the mountains. He could see them both from his porch. Here, in northern Wisconsin, was a small lake, not an ocean. There were no mountains-just a tree line that was sprouting furled leaves not long after the snow melted. And there wasn’t a porch with a view. You had to walk, with warm slippers and hot tea, out to the end of a weather-worn pier to catch the sunrise.  Which I did, while he was there.  I think it was the most beautiful sunrise I experienced in 2023.  I’ve learned that life is funny that way; the seemingly unremarkable moments-can become exquisite when you know…they are fleeting. Or when you face the harsh reality, that they are gone. I never made it to his porch across the world, when he was alive, to share the views he wanted to share with me.  But I’m realizi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Grateful

 I’m grateful for those… Who share sunrises with me, or send them-you renew in me a sense of hope Who hike the trail with me-you help connect me to what is true Who travel with me-to the store, on a trip, in a relationship, or on the journey of this lifetime-you help me experience the comfort of companionship Who have been hurt by me-and hopefully forgiven me, you’ve humbled and softened me to be better Who have been my teacher-you’ve expanded my perspective Who have left me-in a business, a relationship, from this life-you remind me what matters to me, and what I need to care for tenderly Who work with me-on houses, buildings, cabins, businesses and financial plans-you teach me teamwork and how to think wider Who have interacted from a distance-on social media with a comment, as a stranger handing me your child to hold for a photo in India, as a reader of my book somewhere I”ve never been-you’ve shown me how connections matter Who have left this life too early-you’ve shown me what...
Post a Comment
Read more

Third Born

 This girl was the third born. The one who stayed behind when her sisters were dropped off at school and she was yet too young. Who hung out with me in the woods having warm peanut butter sandwiches and apple slices on a log when her sisters were learning to read.  She was the one who spent rainy weekends with me when her siblings went off to college. Who went away with me on spring breaks to warm beaches, and stayed home with me on snow days reading in front of the fireplace.  She is the one who held my dad’s hand as he was dying. Who held me close and held me up when another recently left this world. Who went with me to pick up each of our pups. The one who was by my side as our house was built, the cabin picked out, the mill fixed up. She is steadfast. Gentle. Kind to her core. She’s lifetimes wiser than me. And she is the best friend anyone could ask for.  Our life was blessed 22 years ago when she brightened the world with her birth. It has been glittering becau...
Post a Comment
Read more