I had a little existential crisis a few days ago. No worries, it’s solved. That is, I politely (I hope!) disengaged from a venture that wasn’t really a good fit for me. (I only took it because I’ve been freaked out by a major writing gig I’ve had for years, and had to walk away from recently.)
Anyway, a good friend and wise woman called me on it. Called me on wallowing in self-pity, when I’ve already proven I have something to give that the world needs.
So…
A few years ago, I met up with another wise woman I’d taken a workshop with, and told her how much her words had affected me. I can still see her face as I recited several things she’d said, powerful words that have stayed with me for years.
She said, “I don’t remember saying that. You must have a good memory!”
I said, “Not really. But it was exactly what I needed to hear, and I carried them in my heart for a looooong time.”
It made me realize then (and hey, right now!) how we never, ever know how far our words will travel.
We may never know who needs to hear them almost as much as we need to say them.
And maybe we’ll find that someone has held our words in trust for us, for a time when we ourselves will need to hear them so badly.
Luann Udell 
I am printing your life-lesson which will go in my wise words journal. Thank you so much for sharing this,,,,,,cheerily,,,,Lynne
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Oh Luann, never doubt the power of your words! Or how long other people might keep, cherish, and use them! Would you have known that I have shared your touching words about Mavra with several people who needed to know how you felt about grieving? And think how you have helped others in a dark and painful time through your writing workshops at the hospice agency. Look at the categories for your blog postings—there is something there for everyone and everything! I can spend hours rambling around in them. Please keep writing and sharing your thoughts with us!
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Well said and oh so true! Thank you Luann, for this and for sharing all of your wisdom with us!
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A friend of mine is a preacher. She says that people hear things she never said, all the time. (her boss makes her type out her sermons, so she knows exactly what she said.) She thinks that people come to her sermons open and hungry for answers. “Something” gives them the answers they seek. She’d call it the Holy Spirit, you might call it the Universe. Maybe you, Luann, came to the workshop open and hungry. Maybe your teacher said what you heard, maybe she didn’t. Perhaps a Benevolent Force in the Universe gave you the words you needed so much to hear. My preacher friend insists that she could read from the phone book from her pulpit and people would be healed no matter what she said….
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