A story was relayed to me concerning an event that happened more than 25 years ago. The situation seemed a small one, because, as a listener, I was not involved. It was a story of two families. Both had scheduled a signficant family event on the same day and would be inviting many of the same people. As the situation unfolded, it appeared that the storyteller's family had no option for changing the date, but the other family did have other options. When the storyteller asked the other family if they might change their event, they indicated that they would not. The conversation was not a confrontation, but, the outcome was still remembered in the heart of the storyteller. 25 years later, the storyteller still experiences a pang of frustration and hurt over the event.
A different story teller tells her story. In her story a neighbor that had once been a cherished friend said some unkind things about the storyteller and her family. This event happened 40 years ago, and yet, the story is told as if it were fresh and recent. The incident changed a life. The storyteller felt compelled to pass this story on to the next generation. This story may be passed down yet another generation.
In these two stories, i am not the storyteller. I love and respect both storytellers. They are good women that have lived good and exemplary lives. As a listener, i was struck by the sadness that, after so many years, these stories still exist. They still live in the hearts of the storytellers. What of the time I am the storyteller? How do my stories measure up? Do my stories show a collection of good that has come into my life and a habit of forgiving another and letting hurts pass? How can we let go of past hurts? How long is long enough to keep the darkness in our hearts by remembering the story? How much friendship, goodwill and joy is being missed by our storyteller? How often am I the storyteller? What is the benefit of keeping the story fresh?
In a book compiled by John Cook, Sarah Ban Breathnach speaks to the choice toward abundance that can lead us to cultivate a secret garden that is beautiful. We each are cultivating a secret garden in our hearts. “Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend … when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth.” 6
Sarah Ban Breathnach, in John Cook, comp., The Book of Positive Quotations, 2nd ed. (2007), 342.
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