Saturday, September 17, 2011

Falling back on what works


Shy suitor, remorseful friend, low-key celebrator of diverse tidings, he was raised well and does not arrive empty-handed.


What to bring, what to send, what to say...I think some among us have an intuitive gift for comfort, encouragement, support, a true form of grace under fire. I say bring love. We can get squirmy, judge a sentiment as inappropriate, get knotted up in our own shyness or discomfort, but the truth of it is, what works is love.

A kind word, a cookie, time to listen, a hug. We forget how much we have to offer. The eloquent bouquet or the last summer flower from your garden, bring it. Say what is in your heart. Laugh or weep or both. Show up and be you, the real you. No matter what, do it, speak it. This may well be your turn to be the last ray of light in the world. Go.

16 comments:

JeannetteLS said...

Thank you for this entry. Sometimes speaking from the heart DOES make people uncomfortable; we can get kind of tromped on for it, only to find down the road, in days or weeks or even years, that those moments mattered. You just gave some well-timed encouragement, at least for this "over-emotional female, sap, cornball, Emo-tron (I kinda liked that one),etc." Maybe we need to time the gifts a bit, to offer them privately, but withholding them? No. I think you are right.

Anyway, our art is so marvelous, Marylinn, and so are your words.

beth coyote said...

I gave my dear friend 5 tomatoes and 3 onions from my garden and when I was walking to her house, I bought a bunch of ORGANIC flowers that were at a leetle stand by the sidewalk with a box for money.

Giving is a blessing, it is.

So here is a homemade chocolate chip cookie for you, straight from the oven, with a side of Mozart on the radio.

Kimberly said...

Love this little guy... especially the annoyed little flower. Great message... something we need to remember at all times!! Thank you! :) xo

susan t. landry said...

i like this aw shucks guy.
showing up is what counts, even if we are all bedraggledy with our unkempt emotions....
xo
susan

Marylinn Kelly said...

Jeannette - Thank you...letting the art introduce the text is an interesting exercise. There is the lead-up to uncomfortable, just getting to THINKING about speaking from the heart, yet does saying anything other than that have any value at all? Emo-tron, eh? And gifts offered in private has wisdom. Hard enough to be so genuine, one doesn't need an audience.

Marylinn Kelly said...

Beth - The chocolate chip cookie is exactly what I wanted, likely needed, and Mozart on the side, a true blessing. Something so very touching about the 5 tomatoes and 3 onions and then the flowers with the (yay, my favorite word) leetle box for money. We are brimming, I know, with so much to give, to share, including our stories. And I, a most happy recipient.

Marylinn Kelly said...

Kimberly - Thank you. I should not have been surprised when the chance to walk my talk came up yesterday after I posted this. We are not tested, my belief, but we are reminded. And you are very welcome. xo

Marylinn Kelly said...

Susan - And it is that perception of bedraggledy and insufficient that stops us, or tries to, from offering the basket of lumpy (yet fine) biscuits or the too-critically judged, heartfelt words. One thing I have learned: I will survive, again, being a fool, if that should happen. So much better to lean w-a-y out. Untidy and unashamed. xo

Isabel Doyle said...

honesty seems to work - when Idon't know what to say, I say so and that usually leads to what I need to say, some how

(I had a profound comment half-composed and some how managed to wipe it, if you find it floating in the ether somewhere...)

Penelope said...

Ah yes, perfect reminder, thank you. I love the eloquence of your brown creature.

Marylinn Kelly said...

Isabel - Honesty...how is it that some among us find it the only choice and others do anything to avoid it? I have such an aversion to politicians these days...Admitting when we don't know makes so many things possible, doesn't it? And the missing comment has not yet appeared, though I will not be surprised if it does. xo

Marylinn Kelly said...

Penelope - He is a wise soul, from the old 'still waters run deep' school, who reminds merely with his presence. Cheers. xo

37paddington said...

that is powerful.

Marylinn Kelly said...

Angella - Thank you. The furry, odd and lumpy may lead us. xo

Claire Beynon said...

He's a burrower, this fellow - I feel it -, a furry teacher familiar with roots and tubers, turning worms and hidden underwater systems. A master of showing up, (thanks to you, dear Marylinn, who gave him form) he knows what to bring and what to leave behind. Off we go, with soft & firm encouragement, to speak what's in our hearts to speak.
Thank you xo

Marylinn Kelly said...

Claire - Oh, he most certainly is a burrower, clearly you know him well. We pack our baskets with what we find in the larder and head out, knowing, trusting, that whatever we bring will be what is needed for whomever we meet. Thank you. xoxo