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| A Diamond of a Soul By Alaya Chadwick Dedicated to Laurie Levinson, inspired by Joy Shivas, a woman of soul-grace. |
This Alaya Fable is dedicated to Laurie Levinson, a woman with a Soul radiant as a diamond. Laurie, an MSW and a Mom, is an example of
someone who, faced with one of the darkest of physical challenges (rapid-onset MS), maintains a spirit of love and generosity. As her limbs
function less, her heart is expanding into an ever-widening embrace. I wish to honor her as a true inspiration for all women. Thank you Laurie for
always believing that these “Fables” and The (W)hole Point Wisdom WAY™ - matter to the world. YOUR presence makes a difference –
wheelchair or not. This is for you, Laurie. Love, Alaya.
Once there was a cat – a sleek, elegant Persian house cat, a magnificent creature moving with an air and grace that was quite notable. It was so
notable that she was called Grace. Grace wore a diamond necklace that set off her fur to perfection. She was quite an extraordinary creature,
and anyone looking at her or watching her move knew immediately that Grace was special. The diamonds simply accented what was already
present.
There was, however, something even more special about Grace. Her insides were even more beautiful than her outsides! She was quite
intelligent and had an embracing loving heart to match her wildly funny wit. Grace was grace-filled inside and out.
There was one difficulty in Grace’s life – she was lonely because only rarely did available males come into her neighborhood. However, more
significantly, her loneliness was due to an unusual inner condition. Grace didn’t know inside of herself how truly amazing she was. She thought
much the opposite.
If watched closely, one might see her avoiding mirrors so she didn’t have to look in them, or ducking her head in a self-humbling/shaming kind of
way. She had no idea she really was magnificent. She had no idea she was perfection walking on all four paws! Grace was completely unable
to recognize the (W)hole truth of herself. When compliments came her way, as they frequently did, Grace would slough them off. “I am just an
ordinary cat,” she would say to herself, wondering what they could possibly see in her.
Now, this condition is quite an unusual condition for a cat. It is common knowledge that felines are noted for a great deal of self-appreciation,
sometimes too much. There is actually a “diagnostic term” for this condition, called Catfullme. Clearly, Grace did not suffer from this ailment. Her
condition was quite the opposite and so rare, it did not have any diagnostic term.
Grace, for the most part, was content with the conditions at hand. She had a good home. She loved her diamond sparkling necklace, and she
pretty much had the freedom to come and go as she pleased. However, she would occasionally, secretly admit to herself that she wished she
could see what others saw in her. Sometimes she would pray for a miracle – to be able to see and know herself the way everyone else seemed
to see her.
“There is a big gap between what I feel and what they see of me. They don’t match at all.” she would say to herself. She doubted this would ever
change, so she simply went about her business and tried hard not to think about it although sometimes she was sad about having to live with this
inner-outer confusion.
Then one day … the (W)hole situation changed.
A new man arrived in town. He was truly “the cat’s meow,” if you will pardon the pun. Grace noticed him right away from her windowsill throne.
She noticed how sleek and fluid his movements were, and her heart skipped a couple of beats. But she thought to herself, “He’ll never notice
me,” and went back to licking her paws in the sunlight of the mid-morning.
Unbeknownst to her, he had, in fact, noticed her … noticed her right away … and he began to make plans for how he would meet her. Well, to
get to the point, his plans worked, and soon they were a “cat-item” all over town. Grace’s activities were always noted by those around her. Of
course, this was something to which she was oblivious. All those who cared about Grace wondered how all this would turn out, especially given
her condition, you know.
Unbeknownst to anyone, this new feline had his own mysteries. There was a secret about this new cat in town that, so far, no one had seemed to
notice. He frequently worried about it, but there was little he could do other than hope that somehow things would work out. He surely hoped no
one would notice.
He had a “condition” that affected his eyes. His mother had discovered it when he was small, and she had never been able to find a doctor who
could help. He had been born with eyes that reflected back to the person looking directly into them the truth of their soul. His eyes were “soul
mirrors.” This might not sound like much, but most people do not like to see their true soul-self reflected back to them in all its details. For most,
it is quite a shock. Although his mother was shocked by what she saw, she loved him so very much that she dared to face her own soul for the
great treasure of being able to love and mother him. It was for this reason that she named him “Soul Mirror” or SM for short.
SM’s mom had had to take a bit of time to digest all that was revealed to her in that very first Soul Reflecting Glance. It had not been easy.
There had been much she had buried and hidden and ignored through most of her life. With SM’s birth, this no longer worked, for every time she
looked into his eyes, she saw more of herself until there was nothing hidden at all. Now, she was glad for this! She often purposely looked
straight into his Soul Reflecting Glance to reassure herself of her own transparency – no more hiding for her!
However, Soul Mirror’s experience of his “condition” was very different.
Sad to say, he had not met anyone besides his mom who had the courage or desire to face their soul. Just to be with others, he learned to
glance away, to look sideways at folks and to never, ever look directly into their eyes. As he spent time with Grace, he was always careful not to
look directly into her eyes. He didn’t want to lose her. He was sure his “condition” would scare her away from him like it had done to all the others.
It was difficult for SM to be so careful all the time because he had fallen in love with Grace. He wanted desperately to spend forever and an
eternity with her. He wanted to look directly into her gorgeous feline eyes and purr his love to her.
Grace, meanwhile, had also fallen tail-over-paws in love with SM, and this simply terrified her. She worried constantly that he would discover she
was simply an ordinary cat and would leave her for someone better. She was sure this would happen if ever he came to his senses. She was
totally unaware that her fur glowed more than it ever had, and her generous heart seemed to be larger than life itself. But something wonderful
was happening to Grace. She felt loved and cherished, and she didn’t feel lonely.
Time passed, and SM’s little tricks kept her from noticing his condition. Grace’s fear seemed less and less possible, but neither had spoken of
their respective “conditions.” Then one day SM proposed. Grace was thrilled and purred her acceptance immediately. Still, not a whisker of
discussion had passed between them about … well, you know. Even unto the day of their union, both remained silent.
On their wedding day as they stood before the preacher, a great big black tom cat from across town who frequently officiated at cat ceremonies,
Grace and SM declared their love and commitment to one another in front of the whole town. And then it happened …
Soul Mirror turned and looked directly into Grace’s eyes. He hadn’t meant to do it, but he just loved her so much that, well, it was done.
In that moment Grace, for the first time ever in her life, saw her own soul.
There, before her eyes, was the magnificent soul she really was and with it came the love and compassion that allowed her to truly know herself.
For the first time in her life, Grace was at one with herself. Joy flooded her. Peace filled her heart, and the condition of inside-outness dissolved.
She truly knew herself for the first time. And even more than that, she loved what she saw.
And … as Soul Mirror saw joy fill her face, he, too, felt the horror of his condition melt away, and his heart filled with appreciation for the condition
he now calls Soul
Seeing that brought his dear Grace such healing.
It is said that as Grace looked into Soul Mirror’s eyes and Soul Mirror looked into Grace’s heart … the “conditions” suffered by all beings
everywhere transformed, becoming instead, their greatest gifts.
Since that time, compassion reigns over all the world, for when Grace witnesses itself in Soul’s Mirror eyes, the (W)hole of creation falls in love
with its own infinite beautiful expressions.
Alaya Chadwick M.Div.,M.S.W., founder of The (W)hole Point Institute, LLC and author of Wake UP to your (W)hole Life and currently writing her
next book Alaya's Fables: Tales that transform. This is an original fable written by Alaya in a condensed format exclusively for Applaud magazine.
Copyrights held by The (W)hole Point Insitute, LLC. contact information: www.wholepoint.us or www.sanctuarynh.com
Alaya would love to hear from Applaud readers.
Note under illustration:
Lisa Scally is the Marketing Director for The (W)hole Point Institute as well as a trained Interior Designer and a teacher at The (W)hole Point
Institute,LLC. Lisa Scally is a natural artist in all arenas in which she engages.
someone who, faced with one of the darkest of physical challenges (rapid-onset MS), maintains a spirit of love and generosity. As her limbs
function less, her heart is expanding into an ever-widening embrace. I wish to honor her as a true inspiration for all women. Thank you Laurie for
always believing that these “Fables” and The (W)hole Point Wisdom WAY™ - matter to the world. YOUR presence makes a difference –
wheelchair or not. This is for you, Laurie. Love, Alaya.
Once there was a cat – a sleek, elegant Persian house cat, a magnificent creature moving with an air and grace that was quite notable. It was so
notable that she was called Grace. Grace wore a diamond necklace that set off her fur to perfection. She was quite an extraordinary creature,
and anyone looking at her or watching her move knew immediately that Grace was special. The diamonds simply accented what was already
present.
There was, however, something even more special about Grace. Her insides were even more beautiful than her outsides! She was quite
intelligent and had an embracing loving heart to match her wildly funny wit. Grace was grace-filled inside and out.
There was one difficulty in Grace’s life – she was lonely because only rarely did available males come into her neighborhood. However, more
significantly, her loneliness was due to an unusual inner condition. Grace didn’t know inside of herself how truly amazing she was. She thought
much the opposite.
If watched closely, one might see her avoiding mirrors so she didn’t have to look in them, or ducking her head in a self-humbling/shaming kind of
way. She had no idea she really was magnificent. She had no idea she was perfection walking on all four paws! Grace was completely unable
to recognize the (W)hole truth of herself. When compliments came her way, as they frequently did, Grace would slough them off. “I am just an
ordinary cat,” she would say to herself, wondering what they could possibly see in her.
Now, this condition is quite an unusual condition for a cat. It is common knowledge that felines are noted for a great deal of self-appreciation,
sometimes too much. There is actually a “diagnostic term” for this condition, called Catfullme. Clearly, Grace did not suffer from this ailment. Her
condition was quite the opposite and so rare, it did not have any diagnostic term.
Grace, for the most part, was content with the conditions at hand. She had a good home. She loved her diamond sparkling necklace, and she
pretty much had the freedom to come and go as she pleased. However, she would occasionally, secretly admit to herself that she wished she
could see what others saw in her. Sometimes she would pray for a miracle – to be able to see and know herself the way everyone else seemed
to see her.
“There is a big gap between what I feel and what they see of me. They don’t match at all.” she would say to herself. She doubted this would ever
change, so she simply went about her business and tried hard not to think about it although sometimes she was sad about having to live with this
inner-outer confusion.
Then one day … the (W)hole situation changed.
A new man arrived in town. He was truly “the cat’s meow,” if you will pardon the pun. Grace noticed him right away from her windowsill throne.
She noticed how sleek and fluid his movements were, and her heart skipped a couple of beats. But she thought to herself, “He’ll never notice
me,” and went back to licking her paws in the sunlight of the mid-morning.
Unbeknownst to her, he had, in fact, noticed her … noticed her right away … and he began to make plans for how he would meet her. Well, to
get to the point, his plans worked, and soon they were a “cat-item” all over town. Grace’s activities were always noted by those around her. Of
course, this was something to which she was oblivious. All those who cared about Grace wondered how all this would turn out, especially given
her condition, you know.
Unbeknownst to anyone, this new feline had his own mysteries. There was a secret about this new cat in town that, so far, no one had seemed to
notice. He frequently worried about it, but there was little he could do other than hope that somehow things would work out. He surely hoped no
one would notice.
He had a “condition” that affected his eyes. His mother had discovered it when he was small, and she had never been able to find a doctor who
could help. He had been born with eyes that reflected back to the person looking directly into them the truth of their soul. His eyes were “soul
mirrors.” This might not sound like much, but most people do not like to see their true soul-self reflected back to them in all its details. For most,
it is quite a shock. Although his mother was shocked by what she saw, she loved him so very much that she dared to face her own soul for the
great treasure of being able to love and mother him. It was for this reason that she named him “Soul Mirror” or SM for short.
SM’s mom had had to take a bit of time to digest all that was revealed to her in that very first Soul Reflecting Glance. It had not been easy.
There had been much she had buried and hidden and ignored through most of her life. With SM’s birth, this no longer worked, for every time she
looked into his eyes, she saw more of herself until there was nothing hidden at all. Now, she was glad for this! She often purposely looked
straight into his Soul Reflecting Glance to reassure herself of her own transparency – no more hiding for her!
However, Soul Mirror’s experience of his “condition” was very different.
Sad to say, he had not met anyone besides his mom who had the courage or desire to face their soul. Just to be with others, he learned to
glance away, to look sideways at folks and to never, ever look directly into their eyes. As he spent time with Grace, he was always careful not to
look directly into her eyes. He didn’t want to lose her. He was sure his “condition” would scare her away from him like it had done to all the others.
It was difficult for SM to be so careful all the time because he had fallen in love with Grace. He wanted desperately to spend forever and an
eternity with her. He wanted to look directly into her gorgeous feline eyes and purr his love to her.
Grace, meanwhile, had also fallen tail-over-paws in love with SM, and this simply terrified her. She worried constantly that he would discover she
was simply an ordinary cat and would leave her for someone better. She was sure this would happen if ever he came to his senses. She was
totally unaware that her fur glowed more than it ever had, and her generous heart seemed to be larger than life itself. But something wonderful
was happening to Grace. She felt loved and cherished, and she didn’t feel lonely.
Time passed, and SM’s little tricks kept her from noticing his condition. Grace’s fear seemed less and less possible, but neither had spoken of
their respective “conditions.” Then one day SM proposed. Grace was thrilled and purred her acceptance immediately. Still, not a whisker of
discussion had passed between them about … well, you know. Even unto the day of their union, both remained silent.
On their wedding day as they stood before the preacher, a great big black tom cat from across town who frequently officiated at cat ceremonies,
Grace and SM declared their love and commitment to one another in front of the whole town. And then it happened …
Soul Mirror turned and looked directly into Grace’s eyes. He hadn’t meant to do it, but he just loved her so much that, well, it was done.
In that moment Grace, for the first time ever in her life, saw her own soul.
There, before her eyes, was the magnificent soul she really was and with it came the love and compassion that allowed her to truly know herself.
For the first time in her life, Grace was at one with herself. Joy flooded her. Peace filled her heart, and the condition of inside-outness dissolved.
She truly knew herself for the first time. And even more than that, she loved what she saw.
And … as Soul Mirror saw joy fill her face, he, too, felt the horror of his condition melt away, and his heart filled with appreciation for the condition
he now calls Soul
Seeing that brought his dear Grace such healing.
It is said that as Grace looked into Soul Mirror’s eyes and Soul Mirror looked into Grace’s heart … the “conditions” suffered by all beings
everywhere transformed, becoming instead, their greatest gifts.
Since that time, compassion reigns over all the world, for when Grace witnesses itself in Soul’s Mirror eyes, the (W)hole of creation falls in love
with its own infinite beautiful expressions.
Alaya Chadwick M.Div.,M.S.W., founder of The (W)hole Point Institute, LLC and author of Wake UP to your (W)hole Life and currently writing her
next book Alaya's Fables: Tales that transform. This is an original fable written by Alaya in a condensed format exclusively for Applaud magazine.
Copyrights held by The (W)hole Point Insitute, LLC. contact information: www.wholepoint.us or www.sanctuarynh.com
Alaya would love to hear from Applaud readers.
Note under illustration:
Lisa Scally is the Marketing Director for The (W)hole Point Institute as well as a trained Interior Designer and a teacher at The (W)hole Point
Institute,LLC. Lisa Scally is a natural artist in all arenas in which she engages.
The Applaud Women publication is dedicated to women in New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts. It's purpose is to inspire, inform, and
applaud local women. The core of the magazine is our inspirational women's articles, most of which feature local women but occasionally we are
able to interview national women who we feel provide a unique inspiration for our readers. Our other articles cover topics of interest such as food
recipes, home, garden, beauty, health, fashion, dating, parenting, seniors, finance, business, hair care, skin care, advice, real estate, insurance,
weddings etc. Each issue has a feature section as well. Many of our articles are written by local business people who provide information
relevant to their business expertise. The Applaud Women website is also a resource center for local women including the most comprehensive
listings of Restaurants, Weddings, Female doctors and Hotels. It also includes a number of informational pages with links, articles and RSS feeds
to both local and national websites of interest to women in NH & n. MA. To read the publication click here then click on the cover image to turn
pages, print or download the entire magazine. For past issues visit the Applaud Women Library.
applaud local women. The core of the magazine is our inspirational women's articles, most of which feature local women but occasionally we are
able to interview national women who we feel provide a unique inspiration for our readers. Our other articles cover topics of interest such as food
recipes, home, garden, beauty, health, fashion, dating, parenting, seniors, finance, business, hair care, skin care, advice, real estate, insurance,
weddings etc. Each issue has a feature section as well. Many of our articles are written by local business people who provide information
relevant to their business expertise. The Applaud Women website is also a resource center for local women including the most comprehensive
listings of Restaurants, Weddings, Female doctors and Hotels. It also includes a number of informational pages with links, articles and RSS feeds
to both local and national websites of interest to women in NH & n. MA. To read the publication click here then click on the cover image to turn
pages, print or download the entire magazine. For past issues visit the Applaud Women Library.