A Special Thank You to All-My-Relatives
Dear Faithful Readers,
For the last two weeks, I have been on a magical journey and it wouldn't have been possible without all of you who volunteered your time, your patience, your expertise, your kind guidance and taking such good care of me.
Beginning with last night, thank you to the airline, crew and passengers of our much delayed plane for volunteering to make my journey home a safe one. I know it meant that all of you were greatly inconvenienced, especially those of you with small children, and I wish to acknowledge your support and sacrifice in helping me. It was an act of generosity almost too much for me to comprehend--"thank you" is too inadequate an acknowledgment. Thank you all.
Thank you, Amanda, for passing along the messages sent to me by my friends.
Thank you to those of you who watched after me during the long wait at the airport.
Thank you to my New York taxi drivers, my Alladins, for giving me such beautiful tours of the city while taking me to and from the airport. And thank you to all you New Yorkers, who turned out in the rain, to let me know that I was visiting family.
Thank you to my Red Cap support for getting me, hobbling on my crutch in the rain, safely and efficiently to the taxi--for your very kind guidance in taking me to the front of the line.
Thank you to all of you who were waiting in the line, in the rain, for allowing me, a woman traveler hobbling on a crutch, to go ahead of you.
A very special thank you to all the Amtrak support, the conductors and the station master, who helped me with my heavy suitcase and my crutches, making sure that I got on and off safely. You were all so kind as well as professional.
Thank you to all the emergency room staff who took care of me after my Fall and to the orthopedic doctor and his staff, Rachel in particular, for following through afterward.
A huge acknowledgement of gratitude to Guest Services, Jeanne, Melissa, Tony, Fred, Laura, Phoenix, Anne, Britta and all the others who so cheerfully carted me from place to place offering exquisite hospitality as well as transportation--and, again, for making sure that messages from my friends were passed along to me.
There are many, many others I would also like to acknowledge--many only seen, some only heard, some whose presences I only felt: I don't know your names but I wish to acknowledge all of you and your efforts to support me, my work, and my journey.
During my time of retreat, I had the opportunity to take advantage of a very special library and to do some reading that took me a little deeper into my understanding of the special connections we all share. I know I am a little slow and all of you have been doing your best to bring me up-to-speed.
In my time in the library, I read about some of the spiritual beliefs of some of our indigenous peoples. One in particular called out to me: "All-My-Relatives." In this belief system, since we all come from the same Source, in this case, the Mother/Grandmother, we are all relatives. No one is ever an orphan. And, wherever we go, we are always in the midst of family.
I realize that my dear friends, and through all of you, have been sending this message to me over and over and over through the months and years. As a woman who has lived a solitary existence for a very long time, it is a powerful message.
It was a magical journey and, like all true heroines in fairy tales who wander into and are invited to stay in the magic castle, I have tried to be a good guest, to accept what I am shown, even the skeleton hands serving at the table. It's true that you saw the sharp side of my temper, but if you read the stories as closely as I have, you will find more than one peevish daughter--like the princess who threw her frog companion against the wall. Of course we all know that, as he bounced off the wall, he was revealed to be an enchanted and enchanting prince.
Thank you to my dear friends for caring so much, for what you gave up for me--for making sure that I heard the birthday song and received and opened my presents.
This is all I can write for now. Thank you, my faithful readers, All-My-Relatives, for being such patient messengers and teachers.
For the last two weeks, I have been on a magical journey and it wouldn't have been possible without all of you who volunteered your time, your patience, your expertise, your kind guidance and taking such good care of me.
Beginning with last night, thank you to the airline, crew and passengers of our much delayed plane for volunteering to make my journey home a safe one. I know it meant that all of you were greatly inconvenienced, especially those of you with small children, and I wish to acknowledge your support and sacrifice in helping me. It was an act of generosity almost too much for me to comprehend--"thank you" is too inadequate an acknowledgment. Thank you all.
Thank you, Amanda, for passing along the messages sent to me by my friends.
Thank you to those of you who watched after me during the long wait at the airport.
Thank you to my New York taxi drivers, my Alladins, for giving me such beautiful tours of the city while taking me to and from the airport. And thank you to all you New Yorkers, who turned out in the rain, to let me know that I was visiting family.
Thank you to my Red Cap support for getting me, hobbling on my crutch in the rain, safely and efficiently to the taxi--for your very kind guidance in taking me to the front of the line.
Thank you to all of you who were waiting in the line, in the rain, for allowing me, a woman traveler hobbling on a crutch, to go ahead of you.
A very special thank you to all the Amtrak support, the conductors and the station master, who helped me with my heavy suitcase and my crutches, making sure that I got on and off safely. You were all so kind as well as professional.
Thank you to all the emergency room staff who took care of me after my Fall and to the orthopedic doctor and his staff, Rachel in particular, for following through afterward.
A huge acknowledgement of gratitude to Guest Services, Jeanne, Melissa, Tony, Fred, Laura, Phoenix, Anne, Britta and all the others who so cheerfully carted me from place to place offering exquisite hospitality as well as transportation--and, again, for making sure that messages from my friends were passed along to me.
There are many, many others I would also like to acknowledge--many only seen, some only heard, some whose presences I only felt: I don't know your names but I wish to acknowledge all of you and your efforts to support me, my work, and my journey.
During my time of retreat, I had the opportunity to take advantage of a very special library and to do some reading that took me a little deeper into my understanding of the special connections we all share. I know I am a little slow and all of you have been doing your best to bring me up-to-speed.
In my time in the library, I read about some of the spiritual beliefs of some of our indigenous peoples. One in particular called out to me: "All-My-Relatives." In this belief system, since we all come from the same Source, in this case, the Mother/Grandmother, we are all relatives. No one is ever an orphan. And, wherever we go, we are always in the midst of family.
I realize that my dear friends, and through all of you, have been sending this message to me over and over and over through the months and years. As a woman who has lived a solitary existence for a very long time, it is a powerful message.
It was a magical journey and, like all true heroines in fairy tales who wander into and are invited to stay in the magic castle, I have tried to be a good guest, to accept what I am shown, even the skeleton hands serving at the table. It's true that you saw the sharp side of my temper, but if you read the stories as closely as I have, you will find more than one peevish daughter--like the princess who threw her frog companion against the wall. Of course we all know that, as he bounced off the wall, he was revealed to be an enchanted and enchanting prince.
Thank you to my dear friends for caring so much, for what you gave up for me--for making sure that I heard the birthday song and received and opened my presents.
This is all I can write for now. Thank you, my faithful readers, All-My-Relatives, for being such patient messengers and teachers.
posted by Knowing Woman at 1:41 PM
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