Stories that Need to be Told

The Help

My neighbor lent me a book called The Help and I just finished reading it. We also saw the movie, and it was one of the best films I've ever seen. It had every element of a good story in it. And it is such an eye-opening story.

It's a story set in the deep south during the early 60's, when there was so much unrest in our country.

It's a story about ignorance and denial.

It's a story about courage. Courage to tell a story that needed to be told.

There were a lot of angry people because of the telling of the story, but it needed to be told. There were also a lot of freed people because of the telling of the story. The truth needed to come out. A story exposing realities can be mighty uncomfortable. But there was freedom in the truth being told.

There are so many stories that need to be told. I have one. I hope I have the courage to tell it.


Note: I don't want to minimize that time in our history by calling it just "a story." It's so much more than a story -- it's our history, bad and good. I'm sure this book has served to validate some things that have been long denied and, for others, to see things from a different perspective, as sometimes only a story can accomplish. My hope is that we, including myself, take these lessons into account in our daily lives.


This post is not an advertisement or paid endorsement. Just my own opinion.

happy faces: a poem by me

Grant Wood, American Gothic (1930)
Art Institute of Chicago

Stone faces staring back at me
Not even able to hear

Stone faces staring back at me
Not able to shed a tear

Doing, doing, doing -- no time to be
Not much time to think or feel
Doing, doing, doing -- no time to be
Do you think they'll like your meal?

Afraid to hear the depths of another
You are present but not really here
Afraid to hear the depths of another
What would happen if I saw a tear?

It's who you are; you are what you know
Although you may not understand
It's who you are; you are what you know
You come from a foreign land.

Would like for you to visit my world
Show you what it's like over here
You've been too scared to enter in
Even though you are very near.

Stone faces staring back at me
Not even able to hear
Stone faces staring back at me
Not able to shed a tear.

by jimi ann

Linking to One Shot Wednesday, over at One Stop Poetry - Where Poets, Writers & Artists Meet...

going back to go forward

"Sometimes a person has to go back,

really back --

to have a sense,

an understanding of all that's gone to make them --

before they can go forward."
~Paule Marshall

This is my great Aunt Frances.

Linking up with Imperfect Prose over at Emily's today.

journey to the other side

When pain is deep and strong, I know God will get me to the other side. Never fails. But I can't escape it or deny it to learn the lessons. We've got to go through it.

Rafting in Ladakh, India

Source: Wikipedia

Although at times the anguish we are feeling makes the distance seem so very far to cross, as I remember reading somewhere.

Today the distance does seem far to cross, but the sun is starting to appear. "Land Ho!" I see the horizon, and I've got a glimpse of the other side. Blue skies. But I've got to go through it to get there.

I spent time at Girl Scout camp every summer as a child -- two to four weeks non-stop, day and night, in the woods. We used to sing the following song and do the actions. It's amazing how children's songs and fairy tales tell so many truths about our lives. This children's song reveals the truth that it takes courage to face pain, truths, and obstacles.

I don't think bear hunts are much fun, but it's nice when you're safe back home.

Click to experience a Bear Hunt.

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