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“Where in the world is Wandering Words?” asked Calliope.
“The Minnesota shoreline of Lake Superior,” said Urania. “Our friend Bob is on a trip — he brought WW along and sent some really nice words along with the picture.”
“Every time somebody recognizes our work in a complimentary way, she turns into a Black and Tan Irish beer — half of her feels bubbly delight — the other half wants to go dark and hide,” added Thalia with a shrug.
“We’re going to have to encourage her through her shy feelings — buoy her up — if we want the work to spread… ,” said Urania.
“And we do!” Calliope and Thalia interrupted.
Urania cleared her throat, “… if we want the stories to spread — to spread… joy — awareness and positive buzz are part and parcel of the bargain.”
“Remember that time we got to read Stone Soup at the local library?” asked Calliope.
“She couldn’t have been older than ten,” said Urania.
“I don’t recall her wanting to hide back then… she wanted to do it again!” said Thalia. “That’s the tan… the light… our joyful place.”
“We just need to keep reminding her,” said Calliope. “What time is it?”
“Now,” Urania and Thalia replied.
Calliope threw a handful of granola at the pair.
“Yes, and… ,” Cal said, “… we have a call at 8:00. As much as we love now, we live in a clock driven world… and her hair is sticking up all over… shower time!”
"Owning our truth" comes to mind. A path to acceptance, first of ourselves then extending to the world around us. As a junior in high school, I was president of The Junior Historians' Society in our school. Through the machinations of our chapter's faculty advisor and my ego, it seemed sensible to run for the position of the state president for all chapters. When I took the podium at the state convention to announce my candidacy, the sea of faces staring back was numbing! I lost all composure and most of my speaking voice. I would say I was traumatized, in all sincerity. After that any situations requiring public speaking before groups small or large were nearly as terrifying. Could have used a couple of muses . Thanks for the "owning" of your experience for the sake of my own "self talk."