Last Friday, I went to my mom's house to learn how to make Flatbread. It's tradition that we eat this paper-thin, crunchy bread at our big family Christmas gathering and it's rather hard work. My grandma made it, then when she got too "old" my mom made it, and now it's my turn to take over the task. It's a very simple recipe and Mom was right - you get yourself into a rhythm. Roll out a piece of dough, open the oven, flip one piece, remove one piece, put in a piece. Roll out a piece of dough, open the oven....I finished about 30 or 35 pieces of flatbread in about 3 1/2 hours and Mom said it was done in record time.
I respect some traditions. I like the idea that some things get carried down through generations and I like the idea of the next person making the task even better. Mom said, "Now, imagine doing this like Grandma: without the company and conversation using an oven you had to prop shut with a broom handle because the door wouldn't stay shut on it's own." I can't imagine. My addition to this tradition is I'm always going to have someone fun with me when I make Flatbread at Christmas. My mom made it fun. She loaned me her "Every Girl Needs A Vampire" t-shirt. I didn't mind sweating so much.
I encourage everyone to find something really wonderful to adopt as "tradition" and share it with those around you.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Me By Nature
I present this question: Is everyone a natural-born Something Great?
My point in that story is that I had an affinity for helping others. I was a good listener, I would often say really helpful things completely out of nowhere and when I finally started a healing practice, I was also able to direct my energy in a way that would make bodies feel better. That wasn’t always completely obvious if I looked at it in an obvious way and said, like I’ve heard so many other people say, “Why am I the freak magnet?!?”
When you find that helping people is part of who you are by nature, you never shut it off. Ever. Sometimes I wish I could shut off being a healer. Sometimes I know my friends wish they could stop being teachers and leaders. But we don’t really want to do that – it would be denying who we are and, after all, we are these people because it makes us feel good to be those people.
The other side of this is that anyone can be anything they want to be. I’ve seen people go from not knowing anything about Chi Kung healing and feeling awkward with it to becoming very successful healers. I’ve seen people go from bad-postured and insecure to full time martial arts instructors and community leaders. I think, in a way, we all have every trait known to man within us and who we become is a matter of who we allow ourselves to be. It’s like the old parable about the man who says “I have two tigers that live within me. One of them is a ferocious and violent killer. The other is calm, gentle and friendly.” His friend said, “Which one do we see?” And the man replied, “Whichever one I feed.” Whatever we feed within ourselves is that which will grow.
So I have two questions for you: Do you know what your special talent is and are you “feeding” it for the greater good of all?
My answer is, “YES!!!”
If you don’t know what your special talent is, just look at your life from a different angle. For years, when I went to a bar or party the troubled person in the room would gravitate straight to me to tell me about how they just lost their job/broke up with their boyfriend/need to quit drinking. The worst part was that amongst my complete annoyance that they were ruining my good time, I really, sincerely wanted to help them. I wanted to find the right magic words to make them understand everything would be ok. I wanted to offer them advice that would make them feel better or give them some direction. Thank heavens I now have my healing art. Now I can get all my “help the world” energy out in a constructive way and I can actually enjoy myself at public functions again. People rarely approach me at parties or bars any more. But when they do, I listen closely and still want to help.
My point in that story is that I had an affinity for helping others. I was a good listener, I would often say really helpful things completely out of nowhere and when I finally started a healing practice, I was also able to direct my energy in a way that would make bodies feel better. That wasn’t always completely obvious if I looked at it in an obvious way and said, like I’ve heard so many other people say, “Why am I the freak magnet?!?”
When you find that helping people is part of who you are by nature, you never shut it off. Ever. Sometimes I wish I could shut off being a healer. Sometimes I know my friends wish they could stop being teachers and leaders. But we don’t really want to do that – it would be denying who we are and, after all, we are these people because it makes us feel good to be those people.
The other side of this is that anyone can be anything they want to be. I’ve seen people go from not knowing anything about Chi Kung healing and feeling awkward with it to becoming very successful healers. I’ve seen people go from bad-postured and insecure to full time martial arts instructors and community leaders. I think, in a way, we all have every trait known to man within us and who we become is a matter of who we allow ourselves to be. It’s like the old parable about the man who says “I have two tigers that live within me. One of them is a ferocious and violent killer. The other is calm, gentle and friendly.” His friend said, “Which one do we see?” And the man replied, “Whichever one I feed.” Whatever we feed within ourselves is that which will grow.
So I have two questions for you: Do you know what your special talent is and are you “feeding” it for the greater good of all?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)