Quick Question
October 19, 2010
I am taking an impromptu survey for my book, and I need your help!
Please leave your answer in the comments.
Name one person who has been a beacon of light for you throughout your life. If you feel inspired to share a little bit about how or why this person was such a positive influence, I would love to know more!
My answer: My grandma.
Thank you!!
Danie Phillips, my first role model as a mother; I dreamed of growing up to be just like her. She exemplifies what a mother/wife/friend/partner is.
I baby sat her children when I was 13, my first job, Dania taught me how to sew, cook, my love of art and the outdoors, and how to communicate and be kind to others. To this day she still does just that. I visited her last weekend and even though many years have passed and we have have many miles between us she was still the same, she showed me then and now what unconditional love really means.
Gloria Steinem. Her courage, her poise, her commitment to our cause and just her presence in modern culture assured me that all my feminist ideals and principles were not ‘radical’ as many people accused (and sadly still do) but rather just and appropriate. While she is one of many women who have publicly fought the fight, I could relate to her and felt that she really represented me in the world. I’m still hoping that some day by some crazy twist of fate I will meet her and thank her…
Bobbi
My sister is hands down the bright light in my life. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without her. She inspires me and keeps me sane and cracks me up. Hooray for sister power:)
Julian. Through and through he has my best interest at heart, yet he allows me to learn my own mistakes all the while being supportive and loving. He defines unconditional love. <3
My grandpa (Papa) for sure. Even tho he died when I was only 16 he was the most special person to me (and still is) and my siblings. I don’t know if I could have survived my childhood without him, my grandma and her brother (uncle Dave)in my life and spending a good portion of my summers with them in Chicago… and throughout the year as well.
Well that’s an easy question….YOU! I don’t think you need an explanation but if you do, I can list a million reasons why. #1 you are always cheering me on and supporting me along this journey; #2 you push me to embrace all of it…the good and bad; #3 you don’t sugar coat anything, you share the good, the bad and the ugly and am always learning from all of them. I can’t imagine my life without you…always inspiring me to be me!
The caveat of “throughout your life” has me a bit stymied. My life has a few clearly (to me) delineated portions and it is hard to find one person that is prominent throughout.
I turn then, to now. At 46, there is change that has been brewing toward living a more authentic life for a few years. In light of that, I have to list three people who have recently come together on my horizon to inspire a sort of artistic-spiritual-mental house cleaning.
The first is Patti Digh. She is doing amazing work in the world and I am honored to have made her acquaintance. I could go on and on about her, but really, google her and make her acquantance yourself.
Second would be Kelly Kilmer. I take an online class from her and everyday she has the most amazing links on her blog. I wish we were neighbors and could have tea and make art together. Kelly introduced me to you via one such link, and that brings me to number three.
Christine, I am just staring to walk the path with you, and I have to say that I haven’t gotten past the intro of your book yet, but when I read the paragraph about authenticity and success needing to coexist, I knew I was in the right moment.
Thanks you so much for taking the risk and putting yourself out there!
Mine is my grandmother too.
I called her MaMa and her name was Minnie Irene.(can you tell I’m from the south!)
She was the most authentic person I’ve ever known!
I was with her everyday when I was a child. We laughed so much together. She taught me how to sew, crochet, needlepoint, cross-stitch, cook and grow a garden. And I taught her how to ride a bike (actually a bicycle built for two), ride a go-cart, swim and type.
my ex-boyfriend’s mother, Penny. The example of her life is so wonderful and compelling. you couldn’t help but want to be just like her! one example: she made an extremely good living as a physical therapist, with 5 offices locally. 2 of her daughters were involved in gymnastics after school. there was a little girl who loved coming to the gym center, but was going to have to drop out because her family couldn’t pay the tuition. Penny quietly and anonymously wrote a check to cover a year’s worth of lessons and gym clothes. i only found out because i knew the gym owner, and the secret was kept by her for many many years after. if she saw a need – she did what she could to help. no nonsense and no fanfare. she also taught me that it is okay to spoil yourself from time to time. (of course i forgot the “time to time” part!) she moved to florida, but still calls me to join her and her daughters for lunch when she is in town. her smile lights up the hemisphere!
My Aunt Fannie. She was there when my Father was born (she was actually my Father’s Aunt), she was there when my Brother and I were born, and she was there for the birth of both of my children. Unfortunately, I lost her 4 years ago, but for all of the time she was with me, she was my Beacon of Light.
My dad. He taught me to paint when I was 3 and hung that painting on the wall – it’s still on his wall, reminding me I’m an artist even on days I don’t feel that way. My dad is willing to learn and try new things: from painting canvas, painting murals in the factory in which he was working, photography, making guitars and violins, carving wood, sewing camping equipment, making book covers and always constantly reading. His joy in learning, trying and playing is great inspiration to create, experiment and follow where my heart leads me.
It’s funny you ask this question now because I recently realized how often I think of something my childhood dance teacher used to say. “Can’t never did anything.”
It was her standard response whenever one of her students whined “I caaannnn’t do that.”
It is not an exageration that this phrase pops into my head at least once a day. Whenever I get stressed or think something is too big for me to tackle … there is it. “Can’t never did anything.”
Her point, of course, was just try. You don’t have to do it perfectly but thinking you can’t means you can’t.
My “aunt” Lexie was, and to this day still is, a great inspiration of how strong and independent a woman can be. She managed to leave her home and go down to Windsor (which is 1 mile across the river from Detroit) and found work in a cigar factory. She worked until she had enough money to buy a house in downtown Windsor where she opened a boarding house. My mother was put through high school by her and her sister (it’s a long story best left for another day) and when my mum’s marriage went oopsy in the late forties she and I (I was an infant) moved into a room in the boarding house. I was a child in a home with lots of aunties and uncles (mostly 50s and 60s). Aunt Lexie was my primary caregiver because my mother was the 2nd of 2 police matrons for the City of Windsor and was on call 24/7. It was a great upbringing and she was some moxie lady. I can still recall roaring through the countryside with her in her Model-T with her yelling at chickens and other drivers alike … anyone who got in her way! I learned how to sew by standing on the treadle of her machine. I “dried” the dishes standing on a stool with an apron on that reached to the floor. I was loved and appreciated and pushed to be the best I could. I still love her and can smell the pastry on her apron.
My godmother who was my self-proclaimed “Fairy Godmother.” She never lost her childlike love of play and magic and fairies … we would sit and draw crayoned pictures of Pretty Ladies; be on Starfish patrol, walking on the beach and rescuing landlocked starfish; have picnics of cake doughnuts and orange soda; take long Sunday afternoon drives and get hopeless lost; and play Beatles songs on her organ, singing at the top of our lungs. She inspired me to realize you are never too old to not believe and that Play is the most important aspect of growing and learning. She developed Alzheimer’s when I was in college and that was the hardest struggle … to see her joyful spirit leeching away …
I thought she was indulging childlike belief in fairies but now that I am an adult, I realize she truly did believe. And so do I.
Wow – thanks for this.
For me, it’s my Aunt Dorothy. My dad was always busy at his work and was a hard task master when he was home, my mom had arthritis and worked hard at doing what needed to be done for the family in spite of that, but there was no time for either of them to pay attention to the kids. Whenever we visited Aunt Dorothy, she always said, with great enthusiasm, “Oh THERE you are! I’ve been waiting to see you. You are so special to me.” She was the one who gave me a belief in myself, who approved of me no matter what and to this day, still tells me how special I am. She’s 97 years old and went to Norway a couple of years ago because she’d never been there and thought it was about time. That’s the kind of person I want to be.
My older sister Stephani. We had an unstable home one that was often filled with physical and emotional violence. Stephani would stand up to my mom when she was having one of her yelling fits; yelling I was stupid and her biggest mistake in life was having children. Stephani would also protect me from when one of my half-brothers would beat me up. In the middle of my brother’s rages, Stephani would physically remove me or my brother from the situation. Our parents divorced when I was one and she was five, and every sunday when my dad would drop us at my mom’s, we would cry while holding hand and watch his car drive out of site. We are the best friends, and yet so different from each other. We have learned to accept my mother’s bi-polar (she is untreated)disease, and we no longer talk to our half brother. Yes we laugh now about those heart breaking days, and I feel we have helped each other heal our wounds.
Hi Christine,
my answer yo yhis question is: my 5 rhythms dance teacher Anna.
She inspires me to follow my path. Ferl everything there is to feel, live life to the fullest and be more and more ‘me’, including being an artist, teacher and new mom.
Good luck with your new book!
I want to be able to chime in, but as I sit here and ponder all the various forms of creative and cultural influences, I can’t think of just one person. Authors for the books I’ve read, family members for their stories, teachers for the skills they helped me define and relationships for the lessons in love they helped me learn along the years.
Perhaps one person stands out for something, somewhere, but right now I can not narrow it down. It feels awkward to try. All these levels of influences surround me, on my shelves and walls, no single one shines brighter than another right now.
Thank you for letting me chime in anyway!