Webs We Weave

Long before we texted and used shortcuts like AFAIK, B4N, IMHO, and LOL.... long before marketing began abbreviating store names to BK, DQ, JCP, KFC and McD... and long before we understood the differences between WWI (World War 1), WWII (World War 2), www (world-wide web), ww2 and ww3 (alternate web servers to balance load)... there was another WWW... one that we didn't want to acknowledge or market: that is, the Webs We Weave!

Oftentimes, we don't understand or pay attention to the impact that we have on others.  As we "pass along information" (gossip) or "stretch the truth" (fibs or outright lies) to "protect others," we are weaving an alternate reality that is harder to remember and track.

Where is your focus?
(Photo: full moon above trees - Larry Gardepie, 2023)

I was thinking of this as I was watching a full moon rise above our trees in the backyard.  My attention was drawn first to the brilliance of the moon and its light.  I wondered about the "sheen" that surrounded the moon: it was a warm and dry evening so little moisture was in the air.  Then I noticed two industrious spiders and their elaborate web!

As the moon rose, the spiders continued their work -- capturing the moon's brilliance in their gossamer threads.

How do you rise above?
(Photo: Web Brilliance - moon, spiders, and their web
- Larry Gardepie, 2023)

I wondered about our lives, our experiences, and the stories we create and retell.

Do we:

• Celebrate another person's achievements and their brilliance?
• Capture and redirect what is said to serve our own purpose?
• Redefine or shorten historical definitions to remarket our beliefs?

What do you try to capture?
(Photo: The Webs We Weave -
moon, spiders, and web - Larry Gardepie, 2023)

When I moved around the backyard, the spiders and their web were left behind:  in order to see the full moon as it rose above the trees and fence line, I needed to reposition myself; the spiders and their web were no longer part of the view.

 

It took this self-positioning to return to the true focus of that moment.

 

Maybe that is what we are called to do now:

• Notice the webs that we and others weave;
• Reflect on and accept the impact these webs have on others; and,
  
• Move beyond and around so that we refocus on the true brilliance of our lives in relation with others.

 

May Life's Beauty have an impact on you this week!
 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)

Evidenced By Handprints

When the pandemic caused us to close down and isolate, I began going through photos, drawers, boxes, closets, and the garage.  And, now that we are reconnecting, I am still trying to clear out objects and memories that hold me in the past.

One thing I found was a scrapbook that my mother began when I was a child.  I have definitely grown since those footprints and handprints were pasted in those age-weathered pages!  But, have I changed?

Can you see your handprints on a situation?
(Photo credit: 25 Craft Ideas Using Children's Handprints
- Chirping Moms)

An interesting observation about my experience with The Lockdown:  though physically isolated, I found myself drawn closer to family and friends through Zoom sessions... and shared memories that surfaced as a by-product of holding, remembering, and letting go of Treasures.  It was as if Life Refocused on what was important.

Where have you given life to others?
(Photo credit: "The Creation of Adam" by Michelangelo
- Art in Context)

Rather than returning to normal, though, I wanted to see and understand the prints that were left:

• Am I aware of when you have touched me -- or I you?
• Has my life changed because of you -- or have you changed because of me?
• Do we give life to one another?

In essence, as we try to understand the effects of COVID-19 three years later, what have we learned about ourselves?

How have you lifted up others today?
~~ Click on image to enlarge ~~
Photo credit: We Rise By Lifting Other Rainbow
Hand Hearts - Stupell Industries, Wayfair)

  

One of the Dialogue Skills encourages us to notice and check the ways that our different roles and communication styles affect dialogue with another person.  As we change roles from being a parent, sibling, work colleague, supervisor, or friend, do we pay attention to the impact on the situation?  Are we aware that we are leaving Our-Prints -- some that remain and some that disappear?

What is your impact on others?
~~ Click on image to enlarge ~~
(Photo credit: My Handprints Poem - Etsy)

You may be wondering:  as I cleaned out my childhood belongings, did I keep the footprints and handprints?  Yes!  I want to be reminded of how I have grown and changed.  I can remember -- but not relive -- childhood.

 

In a similar manner, we have all been touched by COVID -- and cannot return to normal. There are too many People-Prints, ones where we have been loved and guided -- memories that we don't want to forget or erase -- lives that have impacted us.

 

May this week be filled with evidence where you have impacted family and friends, and where your life has been touched.
 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)