“Calliope… Why are you crying?” asked Urania.
“Joy,” Calliope sniffed.
“Wandering Words?” asked Thalia.
“Yes, and… ,” Calliope nodded.
“The kid on his way to Missouri with his fishing team jersey?” asked Urania.
“Yes, and… ,”
“A beautiful life?” asked Urania.
“Yes, and… with this community’s persistent support, we’ve re-written a faulty pathway in her thinking. She used to believe that being anything more than helpful, small, and invisible was… well, she believed it was wrong somehow,”
“That wanting something for herself took something away from somebody else?” asked Thalia.
“Yes, scarcity thinking — perhaps it started in childhood. Remember the time she was royally scolded for asking for candy from the upstairs tenant’s candy dish?” Calliope continued.
“And all of the times she was rewarded for being quiet and cooperative — like those best camper awards?” asked Urania.
“Seen and not heard?” asked Thalia.
“It was certainly okay to want things for others… but not herself?” asked Calliope.
“Here’s another opportunity to share one of our favorite quotes from Chang Tsu… Everything can be this; everything can be that,” said Urania. “… because looking back… that way of being served her quite well… she did her best with what she understood… and attracted opportunities to learn and grow.”
“And her desire surrounding Wandering Words is an effort in personal growth… it is not grounded in what happens outside, but rather what changes within,” said Calliope.
“So… now she understands desire is not so bad after all?” asked Thalia.
“Depends on the desire, I suppose,” said Urania. “What is the desire for — an external reward or personal growth?”
“Where do brownies fit into that equation?” asked Thalia.
“Everything in moderation,” Calliope and Urania nodded.
The print version of Wandering Words is now LIVE on Amazon.
What a memory… bathed in sunshine, on the first day of spring, she read Wandering Words from cover to cover — held a printed copy in her hands.
Who knew she had it in her?
You did!
Thank you. ♡
A long time ago I wrote a pice titled A is for Average. What a delight to look back on it this morning.
“It is not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one’s dignity, to work unhampered, to be generous, frank and independent.” ~W. Somerset Maugham
Ordered. Estimated delivery: Mar. 25, 2021. 😁
The evolution of one's consciousness is part of what I get from this allegorical account.
Where would we be without our muses? I liked the quote by Maugham.