I think I was in 6th grade but it could have been the 5th.
In my memory no parents are involved but they may just have faded into the background.
(Come to think of it, since I was around only 10 or 11, I doubt I drove myself to this event.)
It was definitely the first book signing I’d ever attended.
It took place at G. Fox & Company, a fancy, old-fashioned department store in Hartford, Connecticut founded in 1847 that merged with Filenes in the 1990s.
I was surprised that only a handful of people were there.
The author was Madeleine L’Engle whose classic children’s book A WRINKLE IN TIME I’d fallen in love with the year before.
I remember that she was very gracious and that she shared with me what she thought the opening scene of the movie version should be.
(The book was written in 1962 so L’Englel had to wait 41 years for the 2003 TV movie and didn’t live to see the 2018 theatrical version.)
Anyway, the event changed things for me on a deep level.
Until then, I might have treasured many books but I never had a chance to meet one of their authors, much less for a friendly, Saturday afternoon chat.
I already had a sense that I wanted to write but it was only with a free-floating, pre-teen sense of ambition.
Meeting an actual author in the fleshstrengthened that enormously.
It gave it a new kind of reality.
The curtain was pulled back, in other words, revealing a lovely lady happy to chat with a 10 year-old about her work.
Beyond anything, I now realize it gave me a sense of permission by expanded my definition of what was possible.
I’ve been thinking about this moment a lot recently.
Along with the nonfiction book proposal my agent is shopping around, I’ve been giving serious consideration to writing something for children or young adults.
(I’m even finishing up an excellent online course about the various kid genres and marketplace, created by an author who seems to have made a zillion dollars from his “gross out, reluctant readers” books (his words, not mine) such as NINJA FARTS.)
Beyond just going through my bookshelf and recalling favorite books from elementary and grade school, I’m also contemplating all the other ways we can share what that Madeleine L’Engle moment gave me: an inclusive experience that invited expansion.
So much of social media disguises itself as inspirational and inclusive, but its truer purpose is more often than not exclusion and intimidation.
As one kind of example…
For years, I taught advanced yoga classes.
I thoroughly appreciate the beauty and challenges of difficult poses.
I have many friends whose IG accounts lovingly reflect that spirit.
And I’m also aware that even with the best intentions, you can’t prevent someone from feeling less athletic, less flexible, less fit by whatever you’re posting.
Ultimately, of course, the viewer gets to determine their emotional experience with any imagery.
But at the same time, if feels that certain intentions actually aren’t entirely invisible.
Some social media giants want us to admire from a distance, reinforcing our separateness.
While others want to include us in, offering a message that whatever wonders they’re displaying is also possible for you.
I remember vividly the first time I saw one of my favorite teachers demonstrate Peacock Pose, an insanely difficult arm balance.
I remember being starstruck but I also remember feeling included and invited.
Beyond the language she used, it was inherent in the spirit of her teaching.
Her motives were less to impress and more to share and inspire.
It’s particularly fitting for this pose, too, in that it’s named for one of the legends around the peacock.
Namely, that the peacock is the most beautiful of all the birds because it’s able to digest poisons, transforming them into spectacular plumage.
The perfect metaphor for spiritual alchemy, this becomes an invitation for us to do the same.
One quick update: we had to switch my REST author FB Live last week because of something unexpected that came up in his schedule.
We’re rescheduling for some time next week or thereafter.
But I also wanted to announce another Book Club for June, one with the amazing Jeffrey Marsh, an online sensation with over 400 million views.
I’m so excited about sharing Jeffrey’s book HOW TO BE YOU for many reasons.
It offers Jeffrey’s journey of “growing up fabulous in a small farming town” along with “the stories of hero/ines who have transcended the stereotypes of race, age, and gender.”
It is, in other words, an open invitation to explore and expand what’s possible.
I look forward to sharing more soon….
Namaste for Now….
P.S. Newest Meditation is HERE
And if you want a few gentle reminders for future Book Clubs, just click HERE.
