Recall, Recollect and
Remember
I’m going to let you in on a secret, it’s a big one, so brace
yourself. I try to live each day to be able to say, “I can die now.” Don’t stop
reading, this is not, nor will it ever be morbid.
I am not trying to die, nor am I planning to do so in the
near future. My proclamation is one of readiness, not desire. You see, I try to
live each day so fully and meaningfully that I can change someone’s heart and
mind so completely that they can see their true and full potential. I seek to
see my life come full circle and I strive to make a difference. When I have, I
say joyfully, “Whew, I can die now.”
In that moment, I am declaring that my purpose is being
fulfilled.
Recently, I had one of those moments and it connected me with
the spirit of one of my ancestors. If you’ve been reading these posts lately,
you know that I have taken up design and sewing. I am also designing the fabric
that I make the clothing from.
A few days ago, I made a dress from fabric made from a
painting my sister Myrna created. The painting is so old, that I posed for
the features of the baby.
I’d made my dress and had enough fabric left to make another
one, but before I did, I decided to make a top for one of my “sisters.” I could
see the pattern in my mind and so I made the top without making a pattern. She
marveled at my skill and I laughed and said, I have no idea where this is
coming from. The top was such a success that I decided to make a longer version
for my dress.
That same evening, I started on my dress, and as I did, a memory
flowed in like a river. As I cut the fabric made from the image of my sister’s
painting, I remembered where that design had first come from, and when I did, I
remembered so much more.
Back when I was about 14 or 15, I sang with my church choir.
We were singing for Easter and everyone had to wear white. I desperately wanted
to sing, but we had no money for a new dress. My sister Myrna was between
assignments, so she could not contribute financially, but she remembered that
she had some white fabric and declared that we could make the dress.
Without measuring or making a pattern, Myrna not only made my
dress and taught me how to hand stitch, she gave me something more. That day,
on the floor of her apartment, Myrna told me that if I could think and learn
and keep learning, I would never ever be poor. She said that ideas and
creativity were the real wealth and that as long as I was willing to keep
learning, I would never ever be destitute.
I was focused on getting that dress and being able to sing. I
was focused on not having to sit on the sidelines while the choir was singing
and not looking poor in the process. There were so many “nots” in my negative
thinking, that I didn’t consciously hear Myrna’s powerful lesson, and until
this summer, I didn’t ever attempt to make another dress.
We have a trove of buried treasure, but we have focused on
the loss, the lack, the pain and the injustices of life; so much so, that we
have forgotten their gifts.
We have forgotten the legacies that were left when a loved
one passed away. We have forgotten their prophecies of a better time and we have failed
to remember the work that they have already done on our behalf.
Memories, like the ancestors, are a powerful thing; if you call on them,
they come back.
Recall, Recollect and Remember YOURSELF
Bertice Berry, PhD.
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