SUPER NATURAL

Realized that I've been blessed with a super natural life.  


Yes - not one word.


As in it's SUPER and I'm constantly amazed at how NATURAL it all feels. 


Well, how it's all felt since 10/01/01.  


So many people to thank & bless that I'm able to feel that way.  Big goofy grins to all!!

Really Quite Remarkable

Sigh... I'm still a relatively lousy letter writer & fairly abysmal when it comes to remembering birthdays!

Not so my sister, who is a delightful letter writer and who seems to remember everyone's birthday!

Big smiles earlier this week, spotting the return address on an envelope. A letter from Mim!! She'd caught a whift of some really awful smell and got an immediate sense memory of the two of us driving through Georgia, down I-95 past the coastal town of Brunswick. WHEW! To this day, neither of us have smelled such a stink!!! And we were miles away.

Great fun to suddenly, in my mind's eye, be driving down the interstate, Mim at the wheel of the van, trying to hold her nose & steer at the same time.

So long ago, yet feels just yesterday.

I've always WANTED to be a good letter writer/card sender. More like Mim, who's an excellent letter writer, part of a tool box of social skills that she uses to deftly forge & maintain connections with the wide range of people she's met in her world travels.

Maybe one reason I never got into the letter writing swing of things is never feeling like I had much to share. My life has been far smaller than my rather epic older sister. Not less, just smaller. Way less traveled, way fewer richly-textured experiences.

Mim really is quite remarkable.

Still Dragging My Feet

Still hesitant about connecting with my namesake. Wondering why.

Building Off AI

Okay, I truly, intensely dislike acronyms. So, the title is the ONLY place where you'll find me using the one for Appreciative Inquiry's. (Most people reading it think "artificial intelligence.") Like way too many acronyms, it hides its meaning. (Unlike the acronym for Operation Iraqui Liberty - OIL.)

A lot of folks in my home town hope the current Appreciative Inquiry process happening throughout our community will reveal heartfelt dreams, yielding insightful visions that can translate into meaningful future plans that connect & nurture. Personally, the process has already proved a boon for me - it got me thinking about all the stories in my home town, so many of which have been lost forever, so many of which are waiting for someone to capture them for the current as well as future generations to enjoy. Much like Viola Ridgeway did, in her day.

Story circles, spinning off of Appreciative Inquiry.

First up - locate what Mrs. Ridgeway already accomplished. Move on from there.

FUN!

Storytelling as Community Connection

Imagine what might happen if we gathered together and shared our stories? Is that part of what Appreciative Inquiry is all about? How does Appreciative Inquiry use collected stories as a catalyst to reinforce community?

Imagine a community story book! What an incredible bond that could be, and what fun it would be to make happen. Story telling as connective tissue.

How is Appreciative Inquiry different from what's being disucssed, if at all? Isn't it all about identifying core values & seeing how they fit into current/future actions? Identifying core values & guiding principles sounds like what the Bryn Athyn community is focused on right now.

Digital storytelling - entwine the schools & the Appreciate Inquiry process. Using the stories as discussion points for high school students.

Story circles seems a natural build off/deepening of the Appreciative Inquiry process.

Honoring, celebrating the past without become shackled by it - so important!

Every story is the story that should be told. Not just the good stories or the bad stories, but the authentic stories.

My hometown is remarkably connected IF you are within one of many established circles. If not, it can feel exclusive, excluding.

Imagine an evening at MPAC combining an evening of digitalized stories and people -live- sharing stories from the stage.

I choose to live in trust

And I absolutely, positively trust the Universe egged me into transforming my baking style from whipping up sugar-laden, fat-infused baddies to nutritious, healthy goodies!!

And I AM GRATEFUL!!

Taken by surprise!

What a delightful surprise to see a photo of Whitney, Reynolds & Scott in front of the Woodland Road Christmas tree - a photo that I snapped well over 30 years ago - posted as her Facebook profile shot!

The experience of coming unawares across a family photo of a super special moment in time speaks volumes about what I experience as the power of Facebook to reconnect us with such precious moments, to remind us of long-ago stories that connect our hearts, no matter what the distances, wrapping us in sweet remembrance.