Dear Friends of Bluebird Fairies,
We've had some glorious spring-like weather days in Vermont. Then we curved back into winter for some surprise snow and cold and wind. Today, a Saturday, is a gift of warm, hopeful sun. This morning my fairy was 'The Fairy of Today' and she’s helping me dust off the weariness from my work week and easily look brightly towards the future.
Last weekend I had the pleasure of offering 'Fairy Card Readings' at the 8th Burlington Yoga Conference on the top floor of the UVM’s Davis Center. I loved my conversations with people poised for self-transformation. The fairies in my Bluebird Deck are excellent participants in these talks. Just the right fairy arrives, at the right time, in our 3-card readings.
For today's posting I drew (during last week’s conference) from the Bluebird Fairy Deck this wonderful down to earth fairy:
Oh, she's a welcome sight. Yes, we can all identify with the feeling of oddness in our lives, can't we? Many of us are reminded of the strong emotions we had when we were young that, for whatever reason, we were not 'fitting in' with the rest of our peers. Not wearing the right sneakers or having pants that were too short were huge dividers when a I was young.
The phrase, 'around the edges of oddness', comes from a man named Tracy Thresher. Tracy has autism and types to communicate. He's a co-star in the movie Wretches and Jabberers.
A couple of summers ago, I was enhancing my skills supporting people who use Supported Typing by working with Tracy and other members of the Communication Alliance down in Barre, Vermont.
That summer, everyone in our group of 'Typers' and 'Communication Supporters' began to realize that my favorite thing to do was going out to lunch. I don't usually like being in restaurants like the ones we frequented because they often don't have the food I prefer to eat. But, these experiences had so much more to offer. They reminded me of going to diners with my deaf grandparents where I got to play the role of being their interpreter. In this case, the men from the Communication Alliance didn't need interpretation they just needed support for their words to flow out.
The waiter or waitress would invariably approach our table with a nervous look. As each guy typed out his friendly greeting and eloquently ordered his meal their face would bloom into easy happiness. In those moments you saw two human beings connecting with each other.
Tracy after one of these lunches said 'Why are you so happy at these meals? When I told him, he typed 'Yeah, our iPads help them get around the edges of our oddness'.
We all have varying degrees of oddness and it's all relative to our life situations and the experiences we gravitate into. I believe we all have the ability to own the oddness, embrace it, because it’s ours, and seek ways to move through it. And whenever you can, seek ways to connect with others who might be feeling a little odd today. It eases the edges around us all.
I just did a new t-shirt printing of this fairy over at Amalgamated Culture Works. So, if you are a woman, or someone who loves a fitted V-neck cut, who would LOVE to have a shirt for yourself or a friend. Please drop me a line.
Fun projects are on the horizon. I'm starting to do 'Fairy Card Parties' so please be on the lookout for more information about them if you're thinking about gathering some girlfriends together for a fun night.
Keep tuning in and taking your innate wisdom into all you do.
Fondly,
Emily and the Bluebird Fairies
"Out beyond ideas of wrong doing and right doing is a field. I'll meet you there when the soul lies down. In that grass the world is too full to talk about." -Rumi