Last summer I read an interesting book
“The Art of Gathering”
By Priya Parker.
Reading it has made me think
About the kinds of gatherings I host.
I have always loved the idea
Of bringing people together.
And I like to “decorate”
For the occassion.
But this book has me thinking
More about what happens
Once we are gathered.
Last weekend is a good example.
I hosted a sort of birthday lunch.
It would have been my friend’s 70th birthday.
Had she lived to see the day.
Instead, her three daughters came
Along with some of her friends
From decades ago.
We sat around my dining room table
Telling stories of her life.
It wasn’t a gathering to “catch up”.
In true Priya fashion.
I even sent a text to that effect
Before we gathered.
Telling my guests it was not a day
To talk about grandchildren
But rather a day to share our stories and memories
So that her grandchildren could know her
A little better.
We laughed.
We cried.
We re-connected.
Memories buryied deeply
Began to surface.
Bringing more laughter
And tears.
Stories have the power
To bring us back to a different time
And place.
The power to learn new things
And answer questions
We didn’t even know we had.
The power to reunite with someone
We have lost
Or get to know someone
We never knew.
I hope as you gather
Around your holiday tables.
You will set aside the news of the day
And the game
And ask questions
That draw out stories
Of the lifetimes
You have gathered together.
Gail
“Share your story with someone. You never know how one sentence of your life story could inspire someone to rewrite their own.”
Demi Lovato
P.S. Think about recording interviews of your families and submitting them to The Great Thanksgiving Listen at https://storycorps.org/participate/the-great-thanksgiving-listen/ With permission, interviews become part of the StoryCorps Archive at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. More than 650,000 people have participated in StoryCorps to date, making it the largest single collection of voices ever gathered.
In My Garden 