60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday: Giving Is Always in Style & Keeps Us Bound Together

Hello to you, Mary D., listening in Coupeville, Washington!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.A longtime podcast listener and Substack subscriber suggested I read The Serviceberry - Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer. The author invites us to consider the gift of reciprocity between Nature and ourselves, ourselves and the rest of Creation. Neither the size of the gift nor the nature of the gift is what matters but the spirit of giving. I have a splendid pie cherry tree in my yard which could be picked to make splendid cherry pies; but this tree I leave for the birds, squirrels and deer.Recently, my friend and neighbor celebrated her 85th birthday. I know I could have bought her some delicious, made-fresh-daily scones from Jupiter Coffee; but I know she favors a loaf of bread studded with raisins and caraway seed, bound together with full fat buttermilk and other ingredients that we call Spotted Dick Dog Bread. To her gift I added a small jar of cherry preserves I received in trade from another elderly neighbor who was canning the fruitful gift of the Rainier Cherry tree in his front yard.We did things like this during the COIVD epidemic. Remember? In many ways we’re right back in an epidemic; but the dangers are not germs so much as they are anxiety, confusion, bewilderment, loneliness, and exhaustion. We wonder who to trust, who or what will be taken away, what will happen during the night, and, when will all this end?I don’t have the answers, except to say I doubt a one of us saw COVID as a dress rehearsal although the perspective of hindsight tells me it was.TIP: Let’s get back to the giving we practiced then because, as you well know, giving is always in style. It keeps us bound together - like “braiding with sweetgrass.”Thank you for listening!You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Services, arrange a free no-sales Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved.  If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.