A few weeks ago Challenging Perfection highlighted stepping into and exploring discomfort. I've hear the African fable of "going toward the roar" with the same idea. The fable goes something like this:
When lions hunt, the old slow lion finds a place to hide in the grass and the young agile lions stand ready. When a heard of gazelle (or whatever go by), the old lion roars a ferocious roar. The gazelle run away from the roar and right into the path of the young agile lions.
The moral: When loud ferocious things scares you, run toward them because sometimes that's the safest place to be. Here's a more detailed version of the story.
One of my biggest fears is of messing up and making mistakes. Last week I went toward my fear. I made curtains for a baby's room. I'm a novice at piecing fabric and sewing it together with perfectly matched seams. To give something less than perfect to someone else is something I can't do, and my machine sewing is not something perfect enough to gift.
At the very end of the project, I realized I hadn't anchored the corner seams well enough to keep them from untucking and unraveling. I decided to use these super fancy flower and swirly stitches my sewing machine could make for me. As I sewed, fancy stitches wandered--off the fabric. Instead of ripping it all out and starting over, I made up a story:
Bee Adventurous*
Once there lived a bee
He drank to much honey
and wove his way
through a flock of birds
He came upon some flowers
and stopped to rest
He play with the monkeys
The bee felt better
He wandered through
wide banana leaves
enjoying the sunshine
The bee smiled
He flew through a herd of elephants.
He was feeling quite well
as he navigated tails and toes
and curling trunks
The bee was finally home
He ate a bite of honey
and was rocked to sleep
in the breeze that held the hive
that cooled the elephants
that rustled the wide,
wide banana leaves
that carried the laughter of monkeys
that held the birds
as they soared through the clouds
that carried the scent
of flowers and sweet, sweet honey
that cooled the elephants
that rustled the wide,
wide banana leaves
that carried the laughter of monkeys
that held the birds
as they soared through the clouds
that carried the scent
of flowers and sweet, sweet honey
This month at the Writersvibe we are highlighting are favorite children's stories. When was the last time you told or read a child a story? Could you read to or spin a tale for someone this week?
*Thank you, Team Whale Rider, for the creative spark!
