The Magic of Story
By Janet Morrissey
If we all speak our truth,
no matter how heavy or how
trivial our stories seem,
then together we can light the
way toward a new future and
a new story, one that is no longer
based on silence and shame.
–Zainab Salbi
Spirituality & Health, Sept. 2018
We come to the Gathering knowing we will listen to stories told to us by women who come forward to share themselves, so we can grow and move forward on our own journey. These storytelling sessions are a highlight of the Gathering, often moving us to tears or riotous laughter. We are gifted by the stories which often help us see the value of our aging years, leaving us with renewed spirits.
I did not grow up hearing my family tell stories. We didn’t sit around hearing a familiar story by one of the elders. I did have fairy tales read to me, which I continue to love and become entranced by. For the last several years, one of our own Elders, Dorothy White, would tell a fairy tale at the follies. I would leave her session enchanted, begging her to tell another one next year. She has the skills of all good storytellers: a good voice, the ability to memorize, and an excellent repertoire. Due to health issues, Dorothy will not be telling her story this year. Hopefully, we’ll see her next year.
We all have a story to tell, even if we think we don’t. “Stories are medicine. They have power; they do not require that we do, be, act anything—-we need only listen.” (Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run With the Wolves). So I invite you to tell a part of your story during storytelling time. We will listen. I leave you with this short poem from Corinne Kumar found in The Bond Between Women, by China Galland:
Listen.
Listen to the women.
They are arriving
Over the wise distances
On their dancing feet.
Make way for the women.
Listen to them.
CRONES COUNSEL XXVII ~ CHANGING WOMAN
September 4-8, 2019 ~Tucson, Arizona
Changing Woman is a principal deity of the Navajo and Apache people.This honored Earth Mother embodies the spiral of life/death/life. She constantly changes but never grows old, for each Spring as she completes the cycle of the Medicine Wheel and returns to the East, her youth is restored!
We will gather at the Marriott Tucson University Park Hotel in the heart of Tucson adjacent to the University of Arizona’s beautiful campus. Wondering about the weather? This year our conference dates ranged between 91°- 93°. Anything below 100° is relatively comfortable in our Sonoran Desert, low humidity climate. So, if you do venture out of the hotel for dining and shopping, know that you will have 33 restaurants and shops to explore within a two minute walk!
Please note that early registration will take place AFTER the Bellingham gathering until the end of October. You will find registration information at www.cronescounsel.org
Come and enjoy our unique Southwestern culture! We welcome you to Tucson!
Key Crones: Win Fiandaca ~winfiandaca@gmail.com Andrea Hartwig ~ hartwigconsulting14@gmail.com
Are you Interested in Serving on the Board?
As Kaye Chatterton leaves the Mother Board, we are grateful for her years of service and the leadership she gave for the 25th Gathering in Salt Lake City.
Anne Richardson, currently our Local Planning Committee Chair for the Bellingham Gathering, will join the Mother Board at the close of the 26th Gathering.
There are three ways a prospective member may make application to become a member:
1) She may be nominated by a member of the current Board;
2) She may self nominate
3) She may be nominated by someone outside the Mother Board.
Application may be found here.