You Get What You need

I’m sitting here all alone, giggling. The story I sat down to write was about something that made me sad. I like this gift of laughter a lot more. So come with me on a little walk through Kellie’s mind this morning!

There’s a lady I know. She’s not a good friend, but she was a good friend to a mutual friend who passed away last year. This lady has not lived the life she had expected. Her husband died about five years ago, at a relatively young age. She has a number of challenges with her adult children, grandchildren, siblings, finances and even fellow church members. She isn’t difficult, but she doesn’t tell people when they are treading on her, so she seems “beaten” all the time. We only see each other once each month. Our conversation is quite predictable. I greet her with a cheerful hello and ask how she’s doing. She always responds with an unenthusiastic “okay”. Her energy is low. The “okay” is not convincing. So I prod her a bit to see what’s got her down, then ask questions to see if we can find anything good in what’s happening.

This month, I’d been looking forward to seeing her. I had gathered gifts I thought would make her smile and feel special. Everyone loves presents, right? She had admired something in my home once and I finally found a duplicate that I was excited to present to her. I had also ordered an extra copy of a book by Carolyn Flower, called Gravitate 2 Gratitude. It’s a lovely book. Most of the pages are dedicated to creating your own gratitude journal. There are beautiful inspiring quotes and even pages to colour/color in. I didn’t have anyone in particular in mind when I got the extra copy, but it just felt right to give it to her.

She arrived. We had the usual conversation. Then I joyfully presented her with my gifts. She barely smiled. Hmmm, that wasn’t the reaction I was expecting.

We continued to stand in my kitchen and she shared some of her current trials. She’s been trying to read with her grandson. He’s in grade school and has been diagnosed with ADHD. It’s a challenge to get him to do his reading assignments. “He doesn’t like to read,” she told me. “I don’t like to read, either,” she finished. I was stunned! “You don’t like to read? Maybe this isn’t the right gift,” I said as I glanced down at the book and ran my hand over the cover. “You don’t have to read it all. Maybe there will be a line or a page that speaks to you?” I added, hopefully.

I can’t imagine not enjoying a good, enriching, inspiring book. I have books in every room, every room, of my house. They’re by my bed, in my powder room, on the bookshelves, in my kitchen, the t.v. room, the sitting room. They are everywhere. I travel with real books. You get the picture. I LOVE reading. I love how I learn and grow with each page.

I was feeling sad thinking about all of the comforting, healing, uplifting words I’ve found in books and wondered how she would ever discover them.

Okay that was the story….but it just wasn’t flowing so I told myself to put it aside. I thought I should try to write it again tomorrow. I walked into my bathroom to brush my teeth. My calendar page on the counter read, “Perfection is the enemy of results.” (John Tarrant). A little smile emerged from my face. “It doesn’t have to be perfect, Kellie, just write it.” I heard my mind say. “Okay, I’ll take a shower and go back to it. I think better when I’m around water,” I replied to myself. While the hot water cascaded down my back, song lyrics came flowing through my mind.

“You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You get what you need.”

I dried myself off, put on my robe and went to my books. I gathered a few from the shelves and began reading. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for until I “randomly” turned the page in my copy of Every Word Has Power, an amazing book by Yvonne Oswald, PhD. In the chapter on The Power of Communication and Understanding she describes how people process information differently; through visual, auditory, auditory-digital or kinesthetic systems. Here’s the kicker. I read, “Many ADHD-diagnosed children today are simply using a different learning system than is commonly used in our schools.” She even shared a technique to make reading more enjoyable and spelling easier for auditory learners. Bingo!

Oh, wow! I got what I needed. Now I know how to share this awesome information with Sally. I’ll read her the pages!

The reason I’m giggling, though, is the way this all came together. Do you have those little signs that keep moving you in the direction you were intended to go?  It feels like magic to me; my calendar page urging me to finish the story, the tune in my head teasing me to look harder, information in the book I randomly chose…..

“In optimism there is magic.” ~Abraham

Would you believe I read that quote in an email message this morning just before stepping into the shower? Hehehe. It’s true.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for sharing these moments with me in Kellie’s world!

Are you belting out those Rolling Stones lyrics, too?….”But if you try sometimes you just might find, you just might find, you get what you need, Oh yeah”!

Have a great day. I hope YOU get what you need!

With warmth,
Kellie