Monday, February 07, 2011

Meeting Anne Lamott - or Do you Believe in Magic Pt. 2

"It's not convenient to be a seeker. You may look a little nutty." -- Anne Lamott

I believe. I believe in God, magic, and a universe that comes together in indescribable ways. I believe in my power to make things happen and I understand I have control over nothing - absolutely nothing. I believe each and every moment in time has the opportunity to be life-changing. They are all worthy of being placed in the mosaic of our life. Some pieces just shine a little brighter, but even within those chards are miniscule elements forming to create the whole.

Saturday was one of those shining moments for me. When did the elements begin to form? As my wise son offered, "Mom, who knows how or why things aligned like they did, but they did." Yep, they sure did. Magic happened. God showed up. The universe did its thing and I met one of the greatest writing inspirations in my life, Anne Lamott. Holy Cow! I seriously met her, as in was introduced, sat down, held hands and prayed together MET! Over 1,000 people in attendance at Seattle University's "Search for Meaning" event and I (only I) had a private conference with her. How the heck did that happen?!?!?

The series of seemingly uneventful happenings could fill pages. In a nutshell, it went something like this: somewhere between my envisioning, I invited a friend to go with me, we ran into her friend who happened to be getting coffee for Anne, when I offhandedly mentioned my article, and the next thing I knew, the keynote speech was ending and my friend and I were being ushered backstage like rock star groupies. "You'll have just a few moments with her, because she's really not seeing any press today." "I'm not press," my panicked self sputtered. OMG, my inner critic started yammering "Fraud! Fraud! You're a Fraud!" My essential self got me into this mess by following my heart and then my social self took over. Be perfect. Intelligent. You have to make the most of this time. She's more important than you. They're going to know you're a fraud. And with all of those words, my brilliant and calm self vanished into thin air until I sat there sputtering like a bumbling fool. Finally I said, "I think I just need to breathe." In that moment, I remembered why I admire Anne Lamott as she offered me grace by taking my shaking hands and said, "Let's pray. Would that be ok?"

Yes, I believe in God, magic, and moments when I know there is a power greater than I. Period.

Stay tuned for more wisdom from this day and my article for Spiritual Directors International coming soon.

8 comments:

Julett said...

How special your time must have been with Anne Lamott - and looking forward to reading your article in SDI. Also, noticed you are starting on the Galbaldon books - think you will enjoy.

Anonymous said...

This brought tears to my eyes, I have the picture of this precious time so clearly in my mind from your description.

claire bangasser said...

How wonderful this is, lucy! How beautiful! Thank you for sharing it with us:-) You made my day.

Dianna Woolley said...

Inspirational AND so much fun!! xo

Kayce aka lucy said...

hey julett - i submitted the article to SDI today. i'm looking forward to seeing where they use it.

Kayce aka lucy said...

tess - by the time i got in my car to go home which was a few hours later, i burst into tears. i couldn't believe all this was happening. i've been having to write everything down so i don't think it was a dream! xo

Kayce aka lucy said...

claire - thank you. it always makes my day when you pop by here!! peace.

Kayce aka lucy said...

SS - i'm not sure how much fun a girl can take... woohoo!! martha's quote for today:

If you're working to become more wise, mindful, or intuitive, you'll feel some "brain fatigue." Sleep-it's half the equation.—Martha Beck, Daily Coach Tips

i'm pooped!!! xoxoox