I had to take a break after reading about the purposeful blinding of children to re-calibrate myself. I'm still puzzling that out, a puzzle where the key pieces are missing. That's f-ing complicated. I just return to our deep knowing that all we can do is freely give out the love we have inside, and, to paraphrase the Dalai Lama, we can always be loving.
I so understand that my friend. It’s been 10 years since this story happened, and this is the first I’ve really told it. The background of the story is harsh and hard as stone- heartbreaking in the reality its utter callous cruelty. And yet, I think about these dear boys and their teachers so often. Their story is bewildering, and yet it has haunted me, and encouraged me…maybe an encouragement to all of us to imagine, even when imagining seems impossible. Thanks for posting. I didn’t mean to be so “in your face” with this story. But it felt like it was time.
You are always welcome to get in my face to help me align with my greatest good for the world. It’s a hard thing, and a reality in this world. I deeply appreciate you, Carrie.
Similar message we have posted in our church. " You can't do everything, but you can do something." Also read a recent book by John Edgars, a pastor in Columbus, Ohio, and he emphasizes we have abundance, just need to recognize what you have and add it to what others have and you will have enough. Book is Front Porch for All People.
Thank you for this, Carrie. I wonder if you know the work of the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland -- the border in question being between the Republic and NI. It began in 1995 when a teacher at a school in a border town in the Republic found a batch of disused instruments and decided to see what could happen if she got them fixed up...
I love your encouragement to increase our involvement in the efforts of others, showing love and understanding as a backbone to welcoming relationships. You always have such grounded and worthy guidance. Thank you, Carrie. You make the world a better place.
Thank you Carrie for this awe inspiring Sunday morning post!! You fill my heart and soul with your posts. Your post reminds me of your song “Three feet or So” we can all make a difference and will all the love we have if we just focus on what’s 3 feet around us.
Your words are always so powerful. A deep bow to you.
Brian Andreas is now Kai Sky of Flying Edna. His ex-wife got control of the original company and his two sons do the artwork. Kai is still creating wonderful original and print artwork.
Thx you Linda. I have corrected the post to link directly to bryon’s new site. Thank you for letting me know. I have several of his books and they’re just lovely.
W.O.W. dear Carrie, I've read your posts with gratitude ever since attending your concert in Alexandria VA last year. THIS ONE is especially heartbreaking, in the good sense, that it's opened my heart. THANK YOU for all the love, joy, inspiration, and music you share with the world so generously!
Gratitude. And I’ll send you to flyingedna.com for more of Brian’s work as he works from that site now as Kai....and story people is his old one and continued by his son, I believe.
11 years ago I was matched with this pup, my first service dog, through Canine Companions for independence. As students in the team training class we are matched based on dog temperament and our lifestyle and needs. The dog's name is established well before the match. Upon my match with Lukodi, I found that he was named after the city of Lukodi Uganda, by the founder of ChildVoice . That evening, I made it my mission to travel to Lukodi Uganda. In 2015, with the generosity and assistance of so many, that dream came true! I spent 2 weeks living alongside former child soldiers who were learning new trades, regaining a sense of health and safety, and engaging in formal education. It was an incredible experience!
Here is a reflection I wrote on the experience:
"If you have been friends with me for a while, you have likely read this reflection on my time in Uganda. A year ago today, I met these young women and this story remains one that kindles the fire in my heart. Sharing again to honor the impact the girls had on my heart!
I'm reminded of a quote that goes something like this.. The great thing about travel is the journey never ends, for the mind replays scenes that keep memories alive. There was a young woman at ChildVoice who approached me with warm bread in her hand, fresh from the oven tucked under the mango tree. Sensing the pride in her eyes, I gazed at her culinary creation with a shining smile. She extended her hand to my mouth and pointed eagerly to express her desire to share it with me. Having observed how others had interacted with me, she put it to my mouth and as I opened, she had the brightest smile I had witnessed during our stay . It was clear to me, without a word of spoken language, that she was proud to share and knew she was serving me well. With each bite, I smiled wider and her echoes of laughter louder, a sign of joy and satisfaction between us. The laughter drew other girls who came to share in the joy. By the time the bread was consumed three girls had shared in giving me bites of bread and we all had smiles wider than ever. Food was certainly adequate but not plentiful through our time there so sharing in bread was a true gift. But the greatest gift, for me, was seeing each of the girls feel purposeful, capable, and useful as they fed me the bread. Where we break bread together, Jesus is among us. Jesus was shining so brightly through the young girls in these moments. I take their enthusiastic hugs when they finished as confirmation they knew that they not only fed my body but filled my spirit in their act of kindness."
Not all dogs are named for places, but I look forward to the power of the name and the new connections to be made. Here's to Lukodi, who passed away in March, and the person I have become because of his being and connections.
I am now matched with Norway, the service dog you met a few weeks back. Thank you for this beautiful reminder of joy in unexpected places!
A beautiful and amazing life experience. “ The great thing about travel is the journey never ends, for the mind replays scenes that keep memories alive”. This is so true. Also when we enter into experiences in love and kindness and an open heart, the healing and impact effects ourselves as much as it does others. Thank you again Emily. I remember Norway. What a fine dog and companion. Nothing like the “all love all the time” presence of a good dog.
Thank you for your time and sincerity in responding to my comment. Wild appreciation for your open heart and kind spirit, your creativity feeds a hungry world.
Thank you, Carrie, for these beautiful words. I did want your readers to know that Story People is no longer Brian Andreas's site (one of those long messy stories). You can find him (now Kai) and Skye at Flying Edna (https://flyingedna.com/) and, if they speak to you as they speak to me, sign up for a daily image and message.
I am beyond deeply moved reading this, weeping that as a species we do these things to each other n the planet, weeping that as a species we care so tenderly n have the capacity to hold horror n love in the same heart. I don’t know what to do, so I just take this next step- to go n be w/a faith gathering, to FaceTime w/my grandson joyfully, to be deliberate w/my breakfast, n all my meals, to weep, bow n bless.
Thank yu Cyntcha. Yes, there are so many sorrows in this world, but so many ways the Light gets in, and we shift the balance. It all matters….your grandson will know you care for him which a great gift to him and the world. Yes, I weep for this story of suffering, and our capability to harm, but as am lifted up by our ability to love, to lift up, to heal each and every day. Thanks for your post.
Thanks sister. I teach unaccompanied children during the day and I have begun incorporating all types of songs. Worship songs, indigenous medicine songs. I think this year I’m going to actually attempt to learn the guitar and embrace that what I’m doing is enough while I continue to pursue my dreams
I had to take a break after reading about the purposeful blinding of children to re-calibrate myself. I'm still puzzling that out, a puzzle where the key pieces are missing. That's f-ing complicated. I just return to our deep knowing that all we can do is freely give out the love we have inside, and, to paraphrase the Dalai Lama, we can always be loving.
I so understand that my friend. It’s been 10 years since this story happened, and this is the first I’ve really told it. The background of the story is harsh and hard as stone- heartbreaking in the reality its utter callous cruelty. And yet, I think about these dear boys and their teachers so often. Their story is bewildering, and yet it has haunted me, and encouraged me…maybe an encouragement to all of us to imagine, even when imagining seems impossible. Thanks for posting. I didn’t mean to be so “in your face” with this story. But it felt like it was time.
You are always welcome to get in my face to help me align with my greatest good for the world. It’s a hard thing, and a reality in this world. I deeply appreciate you, Carrie.
Similar message we have posted in our church. " You can't do everything, but you can do something." Also read a recent book by John Edgars, a pastor in Columbus, Ohio, and he emphasizes we have abundance, just need to recognize what you have and add it to what others have and you will have enough. Book is Front Porch for All People.
I will definitely check out Front Porch for All People. Sounds wonderful.
Thank you for this, Carrie. I wonder if you know the work of the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland -- the border in question being between the Republic and NI. It began in 1995 when a teacher at a school in a border town in the Republic found a batch of disused instruments and decided to see what could happen if she got them fixed up...
I havent heard of the cross border orchestra. Ill be on the look out for more on the story. Sounds amazing Kerry
This article is a fair introduction to its story, although there is more to it, of course. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-64821371
I love your encouragement to increase our involvement in the efforts of others, showing love and understanding as a backbone to welcoming relationships. You always have such grounded and worthy guidance. Thank you, Carrie. You make the world a better place.
Thank you Carrie for this awe inspiring Sunday morning post!! You fill my heart and soul with your posts. Your post reminds me of your song “Three feet or So” we can all make a difference and will all the love we have if we just focus on what’s 3 feet around us.
Your words are always so powerful. A deep bow to you.
I’m excited to hear more about the album making!!
Your post this morning returns me to Scott Russell Sanders’ Way of Imagination, cited in your Growing Edge interview. All gift ... thank you!
So true! Thank you so much!
Brian Andreas is now Kai Sky of Flying Edna. His ex-wife got control of the original company and his two sons do the artwork. Kai is still creating wonderful original and print artwork.
Thx you Linda. I have corrected the post to link directly to bryon’s new site. Thank you for letting me know. I have several of his books and they’re just lovely.
W.O.W. dear Carrie, I've read your posts with gratitude ever since attending your concert in Alexandria VA last year. THIS ONE is especially heartbreaking, in the good sense, that it's opened my heart. THANK YOU for all the love, joy, inspiration, and music you share with the world so generously!
Gratitude. And I’ll send you to flyingedna.com for more of Brian’s work as he works from that site now as Kai....and story people is his old one and continued by his son, I believe.
11 years ago I was matched with this pup, my first service dog, through Canine Companions for independence. As students in the team training class we are matched based on dog temperament and our lifestyle and needs. The dog's name is established well before the match. Upon my match with Lukodi, I found that he was named after the city of Lukodi Uganda, by the founder of ChildVoice . That evening, I made it my mission to travel to Lukodi Uganda. In 2015, with the generosity and assistance of so many, that dream came true! I spent 2 weeks living alongside former child soldiers who were learning new trades, regaining a sense of health and safety, and engaging in formal education. It was an incredible experience!
Here is a reflection I wrote on the experience:
"If you have been friends with me for a while, you have likely read this reflection on my time in Uganda. A year ago today, I met these young women and this story remains one that kindles the fire in my heart. Sharing again to honor the impact the girls had on my heart!
I'm reminded of a quote that goes something like this.. The great thing about travel is the journey never ends, for the mind replays scenes that keep memories alive. There was a young woman at ChildVoice who approached me with warm bread in her hand, fresh from the oven tucked under the mango tree. Sensing the pride in her eyes, I gazed at her culinary creation with a shining smile. She extended her hand to my mouth and pointed eagerly to express her desire to share it with me. Having observed how others had interacted with me, she put it to my mouth and as I opened, she had the brightest smile I had witnessed during our stay . It was clear to me, without a word of spoken language, that she was proud to share and knew she was serving me well. With each bite, I smiled wider and her echoes of laughter louder, a sign of joy and satisfaction between us. The laughter drew other girls who came to share in the joy. By the time the bread was consumed three girls had shared in giving me bites of bread and we all had smiles wider than ever. Food was certainly adequate but not plentiful through our time there so sharing in bread was a true gift. But the greatest gift, for me, was seeing each of the girls feel purposeful, capable, and useful as they fed me the bread. Where we break bread together, Jesus is among us. Jesus was shining so brightly through the young girls in these moments. I take their enthusiastic hugs when they finished as confirmation they knew that they not only fed my body but filled my spirit in their act of kindness."
Not all dogs are named for places, but I look forward to the power of the name and the new connections to be made. Here's to Lukodi, who passed away in March, and the person I have become because of his being and connections.
I am now matched with Norway, the service dog you met a few weeks back. Thank you for this beautiful reminder of joy in unexpected places!
A beautiful and amazing life experience. “ The great thing about travel is the journey never ends, for the mind replays scenes that keep memories alive”. This is so true. Also when we enter into experiences in love and kindness and an open heart, the healing and impact effects ourselves as much as it does others. Thank you again Emily. I remember Norway. What a fine dog and companion. Nothing like the “all love all the time” presence of a good dog.
Thank you for your time and sincerity in responding to my comment. Wild appreciation for your open heart and kind spirit, your creativity feeds a hungry world.
Thank you, Carrie, for these beautiful words. I did want your readers to know that Story People is no longer Brian Andreas's site (one of those long messy stories). You can find him (now Kai) and Skye at Flying Edna (https://flyingedna.com/) and, if they speak to you as they speak to me, sign up for a daily image and message.
I love Brian’s work, and have many of his books. They heal the world.
They heal me too
Link in the original post is edited to direct people to the correct place to find Brians work. Thank you for the FYI!
Thanks, Carrie!
Thanks for the link. I did not know he was not with story people anymore. I’ll edit the post to take folks directly to his work. That matters.
I am beyond deeply moved reading this, weeping that as a species we do these things to each other n the planet, weeping that as a species we care so tenderly n have the capacity to hold horror n love in the same heart. I don’t know what to do, so I just take this next step- to go n be w/a faith gathering, to FaceTime w/my grandson joyfully, to be deliberate w/my breakfast, n all my meals, to weep, bow n bless.
Thank yu Cyntcha. Yes, there are so many sorrows in this world, but so many ways the Light gets in, and we shift the balance. It all matters….your grandson will know you care for him which a great gift to him and the world. Yes, I weep for this story of suffering, and our capability to harm, but as am lifted up by our ability to love, to lift up, to heal each and every day. Thanks for your post.
Thank you Carrie again. Love this post ❤️ I love hearing of the fun of album making!! And anticipation!
Thanks sister. I teach unaccompanied children during the day and I have begun incorporating all types of songs. Worship songs, indigenous medicine songs. I think this year I’m going to actually attempt to learn the guitar and embrace that what I’m doing is enough while I continue to pursue my dreams
This Brian Andreas print has been framed on my wall for years, along with several others. Thank you for sharing.