March 16, 2013

• Yarn Spins a Tale

  Table 54′s ‘Y’ who wears the title of Yarnspinner in our community is our story teller.  Every retirement community should have one.  On the last Friday afternoon of every month we gather in the Activity Room to hear Yarn’s latest adventure.  So many of our Xanga friends have been posting about self esteem and such this month, we decided to share with you one of our favorite Yarnspinner adventures in an effort to help.  Bear with the language.  It gets easier to read as you go along.

   

  Korathku

  

  The Vigroth people of the great Weald of Erde train their children using stories, nature, and themselves as examples. In the village of Thelra, childern are assigned to a Cord at birth, usually around seven to a group. These children remain together for their entire life. Obviously, they grow close, closer perhaps than we could ever imagine possible. One of the practices the Vigroth employ to maintain healthy relationships is the use of mirror friends to avoid self-esteem problems. This is a Vigroth training class in mirroring.

  Jalleli led the Lobot children to the bank of a small pond located a mile north of Thelra. Partially surrounded by rock ledges and an acre in size, the locals called it Korathku, or mirror, because of its reflective surface. A local swimming hole, the li’l boogers all enjoyed coming here. However, this would be a different exercise today.

  “Can everyone see Billics n Selggie?” Jalleli asked.

  
  They sat strung along the edge of a rock outcrop that overlooked the pond. Giggles greeted the funny faces Billics made as they reflected off the smooth, flat surface of the water.

  “K. Now, Lobot, let’s get a bit serious. Who here thinks the ‘flections in the pond look ‘zactly like Billics n Selggie?”

  Every little fist shot into the air immediately but eyes kept moving back and forth from the children to the pond inspecting the features of each and their images.

  Billics appeared shorter than Tarrilip or Coginna and a bit rounder. His straight, dark hair rested on his shoulders.

  Selggie couldn’t help being a squirmer when not focusing on something. She loved to keep her long black hair braided. She had an engaging smile that almost seemed to wrap around her face.

  “K. Now, su’pose I said ta ya that Selggie hadda big red woget on her right cheek. Would anyone here believe me?”

  They all giggled again, as a woget resembled a large inflamed pimple. Coginna spoke up.

  “Course not. Can see she ain’t got one.”

  “That right. But su’pose I just said that ta ya only, Selggie… how could ya be sure ya didn’t have one?”

  “Ummm. Could look at my ‘flection in pond?”

  “Selggie smiled self-consciously as she leaned over the edge of the outcrop to check her likeness. Her image showed her face to be smooth and tanned, although not as dark as her older sister Parrsie’s face.

  “That right,” said Jalleli. “Lookin’ at our ‘flections is a way ta be sure ’bout what’s so n what ain’t so, hey?”

  All the boogers shook their heads.

  “K. Who knows the story ’bout when Brother Maker cracked Erde?”

  Normally quiet Parrsie raised her fist in the air.

  “Parrsie? Would ya tell us?”

  

   ”Yes, umm, Brother Maker made all things in perfection. All animals was tame n all peoples was friendly. There was no killin’, no need for the Cords. Then OutSide came ta Erde some wheres near Uppsala n Sigtuna way north a Thelra. They r’jected what Brother Maker said was so n what wasn’t. Brother Maker was angry with ‘em but wouldn’t destroy ‘em. He kept ‘em from the Weald n cracked Erde n perfection was no more. It was after this that he birthed the Cords, which he had gathered in the Secret Place from ‘fore TimeWas began. He birthed ‘em in the Weald for their pr’tection.”

  The boogers all listened with deep intent as Parrsie summed up the FireTale in her soft breezy voice.

  “That right. N what does it mean for people ta not be birthed perfect no more?”

  This time Monggausie spoke up. Her deep voice sprang from the very center of her being. “Means there’s killin’ in the Weald now.”

  “Yes, that true. It does mean somethin’ else tho, too. Anybody gotta thought?”

  You could see lines of attention break over the boogers’ faces. Ahllie looked up and said, “It’s why our bodies grow old n get sick sometimes.”

  

  “Very good, Ahllie. That very true. But what ’bout our minds. Any ideas Lobot?”

  This time Jalleli received only blank stares. You could almost see the children thinking through all the FireTales they had heard. However no one could remember anything concerning the mind being mentioned in them. Finally, Tarrilip raised a fist.

  “Don’t know zactly. But think I heard Mama say ol’ mind lies ta us from time ta time.”

  Jalleli smiled in agreement.

  “That right. Now does anybody know what Tarrilip’s Mama meant when she said that?”

  More vacant stares met her question, not unexpectedly. This time, however, no one spoke up.

  “K. Let’s keep usin’ Selggie as our ‘zample.”

  Everyone giggled again and a couple fingers poked into Selggie’s side.

  “How many Selggies are there?”

  Lockksie, chewing on the end of a strand of hair, answered. “Two, no? The Selggie we can see n the Selggie inside her, which we gotta learn ’bout. Is why we got two letters in each a our new names.”

  “That right, Lockksie, but our mind, which is inside, thinks it really the only true us. It selfish n very pr’tective a that. If we allow it, it will tell us who we are n ‘cept no other def’nition. The mind starts doin’ such from way ‘fore we get our names. Its idea a who we are gets narrower n narrower as we grow older, cause our focus is on ourselfs. Then ol’ mind will kill off our relationships ’cause it mistrusts others. Soon we think none unnerstan’ us. We think we got no friends. We think our Cord n even our parents are ‘gainst us ’cause they don’t know us like we do. The mind is so good at this game that it will ‘ventally cause us ta take our own life if it’s left ta its selfs.

  
  This the trap people outside the Weald fall inta. They focus on self n hear their mind’s voice tell ‘em bad things ’bout themselfs over n over. They give others the right ta hurt them emotion’ly then blame them others for doin’ such. With their mind focused on self, it not easy ta hear truly what others say ’bout them. They listen only ta mind’s voice n soon think that the way they really are. Mind goes outta its way ta prove from xperience that what it says is so. Then they believe all others think the same way ’bout them as what ol’ mind says, even when those others don’t. They live life outta what their mind tells ‘em.

  This pr’motes fear, anger, distrust, self-hate, self-pity. It d’stroys all the good a person truly is. Ya get two people like this tagether n how can they co’municate? Can’t! Can only hear themselfs. Their relationships show such too. You wanna be like that, Lobot?”

  The boogers sat wide-eyed scared at this point and shook their heads ‘no’ in haste. They never heard things like this before and they felt a child’s fear of the unknown mix with the fear of becoming the kind of people Jalleli just told them about.

  

  “We defeat this by keepin’ our focus outside, on others. This is why the Cords so ‘portent ta our survival as a people. Even within the Cord tho, we each have a special person or persons that we DeepChat ’bout ourselfs with, beyond what we share with the others. We call these ones korathkuin, our mirrors.

  If we keep nothin’ hidden from them they will mirror our true selfs back ta us, just like this pond ‘flects our true features. From these ones we gain the truth ’bout ourselfs. We over come what ol’ mind tells us n d’feat its purpose.

  I’ll give ya a ‘zample from right here within your own Cord. Monggausie, what ya think ’bout the size a your hands?”

  Monggausie froze in terror. She looked down at her oversized hands and tears filled her eyes. Feeling everyone looking at her, she tried to sit on her hands but that didn’t work. With Monggausie on the verge of running away, Coginna, seated beside her, pulled her into his arms. She buried her head in his chest and wept uncontrollably. Within seconds every member of her Cord began soothing her feelings.

  Jalleli knelt down beside the five year old Monggausie, running her left hand through the child’s deep black hair. She silently signaled to the other children to back away from Coginna and Monggausie, which they did without question. She gestured to Coginna to talk to the weeping child.

  “Monggausie,” Coginna said, looking a bit helpless. “Gaussie, it me Coginna. C’mon, talk ta me. What is it?”

  His voice a little above a whisper, his hand on her leg, and his eyes riveted to Monggausie’s own in the Vigroth DeepChat focus, Coginna made his presence felt.

  The other children looked on, concern etched upon each little face.

  Monggausie slowed her crying and looked up at Coginna.

  “Nobody got hands like mine, Coginna. Why me?”

  The tears started anew, streaking her face and wetting her stomach.

  “Brother Maker give ya a useful tool, Monggausie,” Coginna said. “Cides, we all think you kinda fine just like ya are.”

  “Monggausie, what does your mind tell ya ’bout your hands?” Jalleli’s voice remained calm, but direct. Her hand never stopped stroking Monggausie’s hair.

  
  “Says they make me look stupit.” Monggausie turned her tear streaked face toward Jalleli in answer. “Says I not like my Kindred or anyone.”

  “That right. It does say such. N ya know why?”

  “No,” she stifled a sob, “Don’t.”

  “‘Cause your mind thinks that who ya are. Stupit n with ugly hands. N it thinks if ya wasn’t that, Monggausie wouldn’t x’ist. So it will do anythin’ ta make ya believe that ya are stupit with ugly hands so Monggausie will continue ta be.”

  “You not stupit, Gaussie. I know that. All us here know that,” Coginna added.

  “That’s right, Monggausie,” Jalleli confirmed. “Your mind is sayin’ ya got a big red woget on your nose. Yet when you look in your mirror, ain’t no woget there. Who ya gonna believe? Your mind or what ya plainly see in your mirror?”

  “Coginna my mirror?” Monggausie asked, eyes opening wider. “But my hands!” she sniffed, holding them up in front of her while looking at Coginna.

  “They just hands, Monggausie. Same’s what everybody else got.”

  Coginna put his own hands around Monggausie’s. She smiled through her tears and clutched his hands tighter than before.

  “These hands prob’ly gonna save our lives lottsa times over, hira,” he added.

  Jalleli rumpled the hair on both Coginna and Monggausie. Looking up to the others she said softly, “N this why we Vigroth got mirrors.”

  - Y

  

   

  • 10:52 am
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