IT'S NEVER TOO LATE, IS IT.


So here I am in my early 60's and thinking of starting something new.   By new I mean trying to do things that come from my heart, things that I feel passionate about and, hopefully things that will provide me with an income so that I don't always feel like I have to work for someone else, to do a job just to make money.

I have tried so many new things in my life, seeing myself as something other than who I am.  I remember trying stained glass thinking I would become this incredible stained glass artist but that never happened.  Most things I have been attracted to in my life centered around the creative process.   Recently I was talking to a friend about all the things I have tried: quilting, stained glass, scrapbooking, photography, knitting, embroidery, sewing, beading.    I am sure there are more things I have tried and some that I still do because I love them and I feel such joy when I am being creative.

Last year I participated in a workshop series called Heartrepreneurs which was for women who wanted to look at what they wanted to do with their lives and how to make that happen.   In examining myself and what I felt passionate about the idea of story telling kept coming to the forefront.   It wasn't about telling my own stories, although that was there as well;  it was about helping women to tell their own stories, to reflect on who they are, what they are passionate about, what dreams they have.  It is about recording the pieces of their stories, pieces that someone else may want to know like family and friends, pieces of herstory that should not be forgotten.    

When this idea came up I thought about some of the characteristics of who I am, characteristics that I feel good about:  caring, compassionate, a great listener, someone who would want to make people feel acknowledged, relevant.  I knew from previous jobs that I have held that I was always good with people, that I knew how important it was to see someone, to hear them, and not judge them.

So now I have this new dream for myself as a storyteller.  It feels like there should be a different word because I'm not really telling stories, I'm helping others tell their own stories but for now it is the only word that seems to fit.  Truthfully, it's not about the word but about the process and the results.

I know I keep mentioning women but that is who I feel comfortable working with.   I believe in my heart that so many women don't tell their real stories other than how they relate to being a wife or mother or daughter or sister, a role they identify with.   I know that a great deal of women's herstory as been left out of history.  I also know from my own experience the pain of having all these bits and pieces of family memorabilia and not knowing the story behind all those pieces.

So now I begin, Sam the Storyteller.  I leave you with this quote:

     "There's a world of wisdom in our personal stories.  Your life is a legacy, a gift that
       only you can give.  Why waste something so precious." 
                                                                                                Dolly Berthelot

                                                      Imagine the stories she could tell.
                                                    
                                                      Imagine the stories you could tell.

                                                      

KEEP RUNNING SAM


In the early evening of Friday April 13th a friend of mine died.  His name was Ken and he was only 43, much too young to leave this world.  In the summer of 2010 he was diagnosed with ALS.  On the day he left this world he was ready to go.  His body was tired even though his mind was filled with work to be done and information to be shared.  He had the most loving heart and was always willing to listen, to share whatever he had be it knowledge or books or money or food.   Today there was a celebration of his life in the Peace Park and there were so many people there whose life he had touched in some way.   People shared their stories about Ken while the rest of us either smiled or laughed or shed tears.  We will all miss his physical presence but know that his spirit is still with us and that wherever he is it is a better place because he is there.  I am so grateful for the gift of being able to call him friend and I will carry him in my heart always.

Early on the day Ken died, his stepmother came to visit me.  I have been home for five weeks now following hip replacement surgery so it was easier for her to come here than me to go to Ken's home.  She told me that that morning before coming here she had asked Ken if he had a message for me.  He could barely speak at that time, the ASL finally taking away his voice.  He whispered "tell her to keep running".  I didn't really understand the message at first.  I'm not a runner although I have tried several times to get into jogging but that never lasted for any real length of time.  I like to walk truthfully speaking at a slow pace so I can check out the world around me, smell everything that is in the air, and listen to the sounds of mother nature.  So the message left me stumped to say the least.

I sat with this message determined to figure out what he meant.  It's that determination that usually takes me, and perhaps others, into their head/mind and away from the heart.  I learned long ago that the heart knows the answer, it is the place to live, to know our truths, to feel at peace with ourselves, with who we are.  So I let it go, this need to understand the message, to just accept it, and in doing so I understood what Ken was telling me.  

Ken was one of those people you could share anything with without fear of judgement.  I use to talk to him about dreams I had, about what I wanted to do.  Ken would listen to the dreams and then he would listen to my fears.  He would encourage me to not be afraid, to let go of the fear of thinking I wasn't capable of doing the things I want.  The message wasn't to keep running from my fears it was to keep running in the direction of my dreams, of doing what feels right for me at this time of my life.  His message was to not waste time in a place of fear, to not waste a precious moment of life because like him it could be taken away when we don't expect.

So today I want to honour my friend Ken and myself.  This blog is a huge step for me, to put myself out there, to speak from my heart, to share my dreams and aspirations, my art and my stories.   I remember doing a lesson in a group I belonged to called Heartrepreneurs.  I asked people to close their eyes and think about when their story started.   I had chosen this idea because I believe that our stories don't always start when we were born but instead when we choose to start living our life, our dreams.   I also believe that we can having many starts, times when we re-write our story, to change our dream to what fits now.

So I'm running Ken.  Watch for me.  My story starts now.