Thanksgiving, 1979
This blog post is also available on my Facebook page to make sharing it with friends and family easy for you to do.
The gifts I receive from the writing of my books are gifts that keep on giving.
Since I have been reading stories to you occasionally as part of this blog format, I have revisited my earlier life, both as participant and as writer, through a different lens.
Something happens for me when I read a story aloud, or one is read to me. It offers me a different and deeper ingestion of….??? Energy? Essence?
Here is a story from my first book, Recovering My Voice, written in 2006.
It tells the story of a Thanksgiving experience I had in 1979. Yearly I read it aloud on this holiday.
Why?
To remember.
To hear
The changes
In
My
Capacities,
In
My
world
view.
To appreciate the
Tender
Closed heart
That
Then
Beat
Inside me.
To honor
That young
Woman
Me,
42
Years
Ago
To feel
Her
True
Intention
So very
Mucked up
Messed up
Mushed
Into
The
Self-referenced
Hell
Of
An insecure
31-
Year-
Old.
To
See my growth.
To honor
My healing.
To remember
That
I
Have
Grown.
I
Am
Growing.
That I have healed.
That I
Am healing.
~~~
Please enjoy
~~~
What do I know
today
That I did not know
Then?
I know that service
Cannot
Be
About
Me.
I know that
To give
To another
Freely
Must
To
Be
Without
Attachment
To
The
Outcome.
I know that
I am an
Addict
And
Substances
Contort
My ability
To
Be
Present.
I know that
One of
The greatest
Gifts
In my life
Is
The gift of
Service.
I am learning how
To continue
To return
To
That
Frame.
I am learning to witness
The suffering of others
Without
Injecting
Myself
Into
The
mix.
I am learning.
~~~
I honor this 31-year old’s intentions.
I honor her tender heart.
I honor her not-knowing-how.
I honor how much she wanted everybody to love her.
And I honor her growth.
~~~
Wishing you and yours a wondrous holiday season.
Love,
Light,
Laughter
To
Us,
All.
All Blessings,
Aruni
~~~
Some wonderful program opportunities are coming in the next months.
Please see my Opportunities For Study website page.
Most immediately, please join me and dear Jurian Hughes, Kripalu teacher-extraordinaire, in a half-day workshop on Saturday, December 18th.
A Holiday Retreat with Kripalu Friends
Saturday, Dec 18, 9:00 – 11:30 am ET
Challenging times? Yes.
Even so, we long to open our hearts to the spirit of this sacred season.
Join Jurian Hughes and Aruni Futuronsky for a nourishing mini-retreat of gentle and joy-filled movement, meditation, relaxation, and gratitude.
Together we’ll celebrate the season, ourselves, and our community. Appropriate for everyone. No experience needed. Join live or via recording.
$30-60—Register Here
For support in registering, go to Jurian’s Online Classes page at this link, follow the directions in the blue box at https://jurianhughes.com/online-classes/
~~~