Crone/Wise Woman Stories/

The Power of Example

“PERFECTLY ON TIME” REFLECTION

No matter how far or fast I try to run away I always take myself with me.
Will I be good company? Will I be a power of example?
[from the Crone – March 26, 2023]

Happy Sunday everyone. The week’s events have resulted in yet one more look at the word “power”. This time though it’s related to the “power of example” instead of the “power of words”. Perhaps they are interchangeable, but it has been the experience of crossing paths with both old and new friends this week that has prompted this musing.

The audiobook version of A Pocketfull of Happiness – written and spoken by Robert E. Grant is currently being listened to and a sudden recognition came forward for this writer about how well we may think we “know” another individual. In fact, it’s probably impossible when you stop to give it thought, because:

  • We are not attached at the hip 24/7
  • We cannot be inside another person’s head 24/7
  • We have not walked in their shoes 24/7

Instead, perhaps the best/most we can know another is simply in “moment by moment” segments when we engage and exchange

thoughts, ideas, opinions, beliefs,
wisdom, not so much wisdom,
emotional outbursts of anger, sadness, joy, laughter

…and from there, experience a momentary connection, and from subsequent and multiple momentary connections come to believe that we “know” someone else.

The ego/shadow of this Crone has often sat in judgement of others and in more recent years has been trying to embrace a new idea… that…

“perhaps, at a soul level, we’ve all agreed to come here and live out this particular story simply for the experience of being a human-suited earth-school participant”.

The Crone’s ego/shadow can be challenged to consider that type of “new idea”. However, the Crone’s heart/soul voice is getting stronger – enter this “power of example” topic.

What does the “Power of Example” look like?

Well…Google suggests that the world population is estimated to reach 8 billion in 2023. Is it reasonable to consider that every single individual has the ability to be a “power of example“? Obviously that’s a lot of power and a lot of examples! So… I’m only going to chat about a couple in this post because they come from opposite ends of the pendulum… maybe better to reference 1st and 4th quarters for a clearer perspective?

A current 4th quarter example

My good friend Vicki came to visit for a couple of days this week and it was a lovely time to connect, reflect, take a little jaunt down memory lane, and have the freedom to be genuine in expressing our thoughts, ideas and words. We DID chat some about this idea of not really being able to “know” another individual. It was a delight to have those thoughts, ideas and words, accepted without judgement or pushback. Good friends are not a dime a dozen, and they are to be cherished.

We attended a gathering on Saturday and were the recipients of some beautiful and authentic heart/soul sharing of stories. I “heard” that one attendee was 96 years old (heading toward overtime?) and my perception was that there were several 20ish young women also in the mix. The “perfectly on time reflection” (probably arriving from The Guide Tribe) may be a direct result of listening to those stories. As further practice, the two questions can certainly be asked by the Crone on behalf of the Crone when engaging with others with a view to “coming to know” them.

That power of example? One of the younger ones reached out her hand and greeted me while walking toward the entrance to the facility. Looked directly into my eyes and said “Hi, my name is Cheyanne…welcome.”  It was both the words and the looking into the eyes that created a connection. It was like looking deep into a soul and right then and there was this most beautiful “power of example”. Conveying that welcome simply filled my heart… AND reassured me that our world is in the hands of some very spectacular earth-school dwellers.

A 1st quarter memory reflected on by the now 4th quarter participant

The new dance journey being experienced by this Crone resulted in “tripping down memory lane” and landed this dancer back in the early 1st quarter of this human-suited earth-school journey. Part of that memory lane trip was to see so very clearly the “power of example” that our Mom showed us. The time feels right to more publicly acknowledge her and although Mom has been gone a long time I chat with her off and on and always believe she’s nearby when the African violets come into bloom (as they are right now).

This Crone was only five years old when our Dad suddenly passed. No real grief support/resources available for any of us… our world was simply turned upside down. Our Mom was a farm wife and mother with a grade 8 education and no skill set that would allow her to “make a living”. Widowed at the age of 47 with a 5- and 11-year-old – years later she told me her biggest fear was that, because we were adopted, the authorities might take us away. Single parenthood wasn’t the same back in the day as it is now and there were no safety nets

And this is where the wide-open eyes/heart and soul of this Crone looked back in absolute awe and admiration. She not only kept us all together, she managed to let us continue dancing… almost unbelievable! Such a creative, hard-working, intuitive, courageous, and tenacious soul who never gave up. My own loss in 2018 looks simple compared to hers. That’s not to discount my own or anyone else’s grief and sorrow. It’s simply seeing in a different perspective the strength she modelled for us. I have multiple regrets for behaviour and attitude I exhibited during the growing up years. I make amends often as thoughts / ideas / events spark a memory. I believe I’ve forgiven myself and that she too has forgiven me. A level of peace is attained when considering it may well have been part of our agreement and the story we came here to share.

Is there a takeaway this week?

Might I incorporate, or at least remember now and again, to model a “power of example” through a practice that includes things like integrity, selflessness, concern for others, kindness, respect, consideration, living the four agreements?

Can those ideas/principles be extended to those who I may cross paths with regardless of my human-suited connection to them but with a view to coming from a soul-connection with them?

And…just for fun – TO ALL MY SMART FRIENDS ….

Thought it might be fun to include a little bit of silliness. This one crossed my Inbox some weeks back as a little Q&A…have a bit of fun and I’ll re-post WITH the answers in a couple of days.

  1. Johnny’s mother had three children. The first child was named April. The second child was named May. What was the third child’s name? 
  2. There is a clerk at the butcher shop, he is five feet ten inches tall, and he wears size 13 sneakers. What does he weigh? 
  3. Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world? 
  4. How much dirt is there in a hole… that measures two feet by three feet by four feet? 
  5. What word in the English Language… is always spelled incorrectly? 
  6. Billy was born on December 28th, yet his birthday is always in the summer. How is this possible? 
  7. In California, you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg. Why not? 
  8. What was the President’s Name…in 1975? 
  9. If you were running a race, and you passed the person in 2nd place, what place would you be in now? 
  10. Which is correct to say, “The yolk of the egg are white” or “The yolk of the egg is white”? 
  11. If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the other field, how many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in another field?