“There is a force in the universe which, if we permit, will flow through us and produce miraculous results.” Mahatma Gandhi
Many women attending the Gatherings have asked for more free time, so Friday was designated as a time to do whatever caught your attention. I wondered what I would do as I had no plans, so I was open to the whatever. Years ago I read a book called Hiring the Heavens by Jean Slatter. It simply states that if you want something “hire an angel” because they are waiting to assist in anyway, filling any large or small need. You may be specific in your hiring the type of angel you may need: travel agent angel, organizer, time manager, financial, etc.
On Friday morning upon rising, I hired an angel to provide an activity for my free time. Then I went about my day. As I sat down in my Wisdom Circle, Barbara Test made an announcement, “Anyone who would like to tour Denver, I would be happy to take three women to see the sites of downtown Denver. I have a car since I live here.” Oh boy. That sounded great. I wanted to go to the Botanical Gardens and Barbara was open for that. At the Gardens, we met two other Crones, Nancy Peltola and Mary Burshem who joined us, leaving Nancy’s car at the Garden. We couldn’t have had a better tour guide who showed us all the important government buildings, museums, and learning centers. We were amazed at the city’s growth and apartments being built.
It was getting late and Barbara wondered if we were getting hungry. YES was the unanimous answer. She took us to this magical place called the Mercury Café, an organic, eco-friendly restaurant with a venue filled with unusual artists, musicians, writers, and dancers. Classical guitar music was wafting from the other room as we entered through red chiffon curtains, seeing a mixture of colored walls with an assortment of tables and chairs. The vintage look was inviting. The people made me feel comfortable and full of wonder. Barbara knew everyone. She introduced us to the owner of thirty years who told us that her 60-70 hour work load was not considered work because this was her passion. She had compost boxes outside on the front walk, solar panels on the roof and wind turbines.
We met the Cello player who would be performing at 9:30pm with three other musicians. Barbara and Mary were going to stay to hear them, but Nancy and I had to leave. Sadly, I knew I couldn’t stay. Barbara said they stayed to hear flamingo music and tango dancing, getting in at 1AM.
Perfectly, magical day and I couldn’t have planned it any better. Hope you found magic at the Gathering. Magic happens and so do angels.
Reflections on Planning Crones Counsel 24
By annie lehto & Carol Friedrich
Women from Colorado Crones Circle of Wise Women (CCCWW), a Denver metro Crones group, gathered together for the past year and a half, and with other Crone volunteers from other groups, planned Crones Counsel 24. This was our third Colorado gathering, having also planned CC 7 (1999) Estes Park and CC 14 (2006) Boulder with other Crones groups across Colorado.
How wonderful it is to have planned and implemented another successful Gathering, both in terms of setting, program, and results. We are pleased with how our planning was enthusiastically embraced and it was great to see our crone sisters from other gatherings as well as to meet many first timers.
Reflecting on the planning process motivates us to encourage other Crone circles, or even two or three women together, to consider planning a future gathering in their location. There is always available consultation and assistance by those who have planned past gatherings as well as a CC planning guide.
We always grow with each Gathering we have planned. We hope that sharing in this Counsel has been a good experience for all participants as well.
Photos from Crones Counsel
Take a look at some great photos take by our photographer extraordinaire, Lynne Ericksson, on the Crones Counsel Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CronesCounsel/ Or you can view the photos and order prints on Shutterfly: https://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=1667906ace61f3af&sid=2EZsWzdu5auqA
Excerpts from Honoring the Elders in Denver
By Walta Ruff and the Fort Collins, Colorado Crones
Below are the one words chosen by each elder along with some appropriate quotes:
Blest: Marge Hampton
“I have an understanding with the hills
At evening when the slanted radiance fills
Their hollows, and the great winds let them be….”
-Grace Hazard Conkling
Blest: Gayle Barrett
“Gratitude lifts our eyes off the things we lack so we might see the blessings we possess.”
-Max Lucero
Enthusiasm: Ruthanne Parker
“The rule is, jam tomorrow, and jam yesterday—but never jam today.”
“It must come sometimes to ‘jam today,’” Alice objected.
“No, it can’t,” said the Queen. “It’s jam every other day: today isn’t any other day, you know.”
From Alice in Wonderland
Outgoing: Jan Littrell
“Nobody gets to live life backward. Look ahead, that is where the future lies.”
-Ann Landers
Inspirer: Jackie Ehlers
“I feel no need for any other faith than my faith in human beings.”
-Pearl Buck
Fortunate: Wanda Baxter
“Remember no one makes it alone. Have a grateful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who help you.”
-H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Enduring: Myrn Calkins
“Each naked human face a candle
Joining other candles in a procession
Spanning many centuries….”
-Elizabeth Spires
Adventurous: Joan Evans
“Life is either a great adventure or nothing.”
-Helen Keller
Learner: Nancy Hanson
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
-Psalms 90:12
Creative: Joan Forest
“Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them.”
-Ann Landers
Mindful: Marilyn Thompson
“The months and days are the travelers of eternity.”
Basho
Happy: Grace Zach
“To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.”
-William Blake
Passionate: Betty Rockwell
“We never know how high we are
Till we are called to rise
And then, if we are true to plan
Our statures touch the skies.”
Emily Dickinson
Joyful: Dorothy White
“Because my songs are brief,
People think I hoarded words.
I have spared nothing in my songs.”
-Akiko
Sunny: Irene Miller
“If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it.”
-Andy Rooney
Supportive: Alice Yee
“There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.”
-Erma Bombeck
There’s one more philosopher not to be left out of our meditations, and that’s Theodor Geisel, better known to all of us as Dr. Seuss. His book You’re Only Old Once! includes an inscription that reads, “Is this a children’s book? Well…not immediately. You buy a copy for your child now and you give it to [her] on [her] 70th birthday.” The text begins:
“One day you will read
In the National Geographic
of a faraway land
with no smelly bad traffic.
In those green-pastured mountains
of Fotta-fa-Zee
everybody feels fine
at a hundred and three
‘cause the air that they breathe
is potassium-free
and because they chew nuts
from the Tutt-aTutt Tree.
This gives strength to their teeth,
it gives length to their hair,
and they live without doctors,
with nary a care.
And you’ll find yourself wishing that you were out there
in Fotta-fa-Zee and not here in this chair
in the Golden Years Clinic on Century Square
for Spleen Readjustment and Muffler Repair.”
Well, no spleen readjustment or muffler repair today for those of us here.
Archives Committee Report
By Kathy Puffer
The Archives Committee recently gave their first report and recommendations to the Crones Counsel Mother Board (CCMB).
Recommended and approved by the CCMB as the repository for Crones Counsel archives, the University of Utah’s Special Collections Department on their campus in Salt Lake City. The library is easily accessible; there is a digital preservation program.
Materials donated become a permanent part of the library’s collection. They then are in public domain, available for public use. Materials are used on site; a photocopier is available.
If you would like to contribute your Crones Counsel historical materials, please send them to the Archives Committee Chair, Janet Osborne at the address below. Materials sent won’t be returned.
Janet Osborne
480 N 1000 E
Hyde Park, Utah 84318
Denver Participants Survey – Last Chance
All of you who were in Denver at Crones Counsel 24 this is your last chance to complete the evaluation form and let us know how we did. Here is the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/M2SMN39
Crones Counsel 25th Anniversary Jubilee
Weaving the Silver Threads of Past, Present, and Future
October 4-8, 2017
University Guest House and Conference Center
110 South Fort Douglas Blvd.
Salt Lake City, UT 84113-5036
Complete information coming soon.
Register now.