“I am not going to tell you my name, not yet at any rate.’ A queer half-knowing, half-humorous look came with a green flicker into his eyes. ‘For one thing it would take a long while: my name is growing all the time, and I’ve lived a very long, long time; so my name is like a story. Real names tell you the story of things they belong to in my language, in the Old Entish as you might say. It is a lovely language, but it takes a very long time saying anything in it, because we do not say anything in it, unless it is worth taking a long time to say, and to listen to.”>> Treebeard in JRR Tolkien’s The Two Towers
Sunday 24 July 2016
75/100
I started this morning’s Sunday meditations by flipping through my journal to reflect on this past week and take an accounting of lessons learned and changes necessary. It’s part of my weekly rhythm.
This page with the last little backwards bits of a photo transfer reminded me of an Ent, a race of tree-like beings in J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy world Middle-earth.
I was struck by the wisdom of being slow to share name and story.
Brene Brown says it this way in The Gifts of Imperfection,
“You share with people who have earned the right to hear your story.”
Man, that’s so good. It’s one of the things I would tell my 16 year old self. 
[And my 21 year old self. And my 40 year old self. And for sure my 51 year old self.]
Be quick to smile and slow to share the details of your story.
This morning I poured my story into the pages of my journal. The pages have proven themselves trustworthy friends. As have a very small handful of people in my sacred circle. You’d be surprised by how small the number is. Like Treebeard, I’ve learned to weigh and measure who gets to hear ‘the story of things’.
Here’s some more wisdom from Brene Brown:
I loved when she said this:
“You have to think long and hard about who has earned the right to hear this story. And, with whom am I in a relationship that can bear the weight of this story?”
May you find companions along the way, who are trustworthy and who have sight to see you. May your sacred circle be filled with quality over quantity. Overflowing with those who can hold your story with skill, empathy and grace.
BE in your life,
Betsy
