Thank you Kirstie. I absolutely love "she is healing. she is fierce."
and this line: "and that trust is a gift and a decision," resonates deeply with me.
learning to trust myself, my way, my inner knowing... the decision part I get, but what you are saying about it being a gift... this is opening a new way of seeing in me, and a new way to walk with trust.
Thank you Toni. I don’t know if I could have shared that post as I did without having first listened to your amazing interview. Your courage and attuned ear, the music within us - all these ideas of yours - helped me get to the decision part of the trust I mentioned. I’m continuing to think of you saying, “Don’t just do the work, be the work.” Yes. I’m also with the gift of your attentive reading and response. Thank you.
Thank you Kirstie. I'd like to echo what Toni says. You say this process is changing you. The way you share it, your insight, your openness, changes us, your readers. Trust is an issue for me too. So I love that you bring us the wasp. Trust? Bloody hard in this case. But as you say, love not impossible. (Without being stupid about it, heh.) I love the way you explore avoidance of pain. And yet, you love the wasp that turned up to contribute to the conversation. And was included. Unquestionably fierce. And kind of underlining that this is not easy stuff. We react to the wasp as inflictor of pain. I wonder if this shifts the angle a little, and asks us to remember that the wasp is reacting to perceived threat. She wants to protect against the threat that we might be. And she's not wrong about that. It's something I'm not good at, and need to remind myself, not to be so focussed on my own insecurities that I forget that most people are also labouring under their own. Remembering that, caring about that, helps me to be less self-absorbed, Thanks Kirstie, Your wasp just pointed that out to me.
Thank you Carolyn. Huge gratitude for your generous and attentive reading. I love this part: "But as you say, love not impossible. (Without being stupid about it, heh.)" - Yes! In response to your response, another small story about this wasp-teacher:
I was speaking in a small group, beginning a story when a wasp flew in the window straight at me and head-butted me on the corner of my mouth. I stopped speaking. The wasp dropped to a crumb-laden plate in front of me and woozily staggered around. In concentrated silence: a friend on my left passed me an empty glass, and a friend on my right slipped me a postcard. I put the empty glass over the wasp, slid the postcard under this, and took the wasp outside. It flew off into sunshine. I returned to the group, to the table, and when I started speaking again, it was with a completely different story, one the wasp had jolted to the surface, about a time a fantail had flown into a room and chattered at me, and how my first reaction had been fear.
Much, much later I realised: the wasp hadn't hurt me; and also perhaps more incredibly, I/we had not hurt the wasp.
Thank you Kirstie. I absolutely love "she is healing. she is fierce."
and this line: "and that trust is a gift and a decision," resonates deeply with me.
learning to trust myself, my way, my inner knowing... the decision part I get, but what you are saying about it being a gift... this is opening a new way of seeing in me, and a new way to walk with trust.
thank you for sharing your he(art) with us <3
Thank you Toni. I don’t know if I could have shared that post as I did without having first listened to your amazing interview. Your courage and attuned ear, the music within us - all these ideas of yours - helped me get to the decision part of the trust I mentioned. I’m continuing to think of you saying, “Don’t just do the work, be the work.” Yes. I’m also with the gift of your attentive reading and response. Thank you.
Thank you Kirstie. I'd like to echo what Toni says. You say this process is changing you. The way you share it, your insight, your openness, changes us, your readers. Trust is an issue for me too. So I love that you bring us the wasp. Trust? Bloody hard in this case. But as you say, love not impossible. (Without being stupid about it, heh.) I love the way you explore avoidance of pain. And yet, you love the wasp that turned up to contribute to the conversation. And was included. Unquestionably fierce. And kind of underlining that this is not easy stuff. We react to the wasp as inflictor of pain. I wonder if this shifts the angle a little, and asks us to remember that the wasp is reacting to perceived threat. She wants to protect against the threat that we might be. And she's not wrong about that. It's something I'm not good at, and need to remind myself, not to be so focussed on my own insecurities that I forget that most people are also labouring under their own. Remembering that, caring about that, helps me to be less self-absorbed, Thanks Kirstie, Your wasp just pointed that out to me.
Thank you Carolyn. Huge gratitude for your generous and attentive reading. I love this part: "But as you say, love not impossible. (Without being stupid about it, heh.)" - Yes! In response to your response, another small story about this wasp-teacher:
I was speaking in a small group, beginning a story when a wasp flew in the window straight at me and head-butted me on the corner of my mouth. I stopped speaking. The wasp dropped to a crumb-laden plate in front of me and woozily staggered around. In concentrated silence: a friend on my left passed me an empty glass, and a friend on my right slipped me a postcard. I put the empty glass over the wasp, slid the postcard under this, and took the wasp outside. It flew off into sunshine. I returned to the group, to the table, and when I started speaking again, it was with a completely different story, one the wasp had jolted to the surface, about a time a fantail had flown into a room and chattered at me, and how my first reaction had been fear.
Much, much later I realised: the wasp hadn't hurt me; and also perhaps more incredibly, I/we had not hurt the wasp.
Wonderful! Teacher-of-no-subtlety - Stop talking! Wrong story! But with care. With mutual care. Such a beautiful story. Thank you.
Thank you Kirstie
Love the fantail 💚
We have them outside our window 😊
Sadly the cat next door caught one 😪
Even worse I was a witness unable to prevent it 😪😪
Yes I love fantails too. Aue! It hurts to be a witness sometimes. Thank you Neil. Always appreciate your comments.