STORYTIME TAPESTRY

The Newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the world

Special Treat ??“ Debra Shiveley

Sept 27, 2005 

 Namaste

In India they say ???Namaste,??? ???I see the God in you.??? or ???I bow to you??? and acknowledge the Devine spark within each of us.

An elderly woman progresses down the grocery isle.  She is blocking me from my usual break-neck run as I race through the store to complete my selections.

I know that she has paid her dues.  She is a hero - she is a survivor.  I know the Devine spark dwells within her and I slow my pace.

Namaste

A young man bags the groceries.  He is mentally handicapped and so does not realize that he has put a bag of potatoes on top of my loaf of bread.  The manager walks over and berates him and he begins to cry.

I know this Man/Child is a creation of God and I comfort him.

Namaste

A young man lounges outside of the store.  He is angry and I can tell from the way he looks at me that he feels hatred simply because of who I am.  His eyes are full of rage and his sneer cuts into my heart.  I nod my head and walk on.

I know within him there dwells the Creator and I say a prayer for him.
         
Namaste

And when I am the one who is slow, or messing up or am angry, I pray that those who witness my actions will realize that God also dwells within me.

Namaste

Debra Shiveley

merribuck@merribuck.com

About Me:

Hello, my name is Debra Welch.  I'm 52 and the very proud mother of a soon-to-be 13 year old son named Christopher.

Christopher is adopted, so I have some writings on the subject, and he was born with a moderately severe unilateral clefting of the lip, gums and hard and soft palates.  He is beautiful!  Chris also has learning differences: ADD, Dysgraphia, and Executive Function and Working Memory Deficit.  He is the joy of our lives.

I have been writing since age nine.  My father came to visit and plopped down a pad of paper and a pencil.  "Write me a poem," he said "and call it 'Poetry Problems.'"  This is when I learned that my father and great grandfather both wrote poetry.  I was being tested.

I have just finished co-authoring a novel with my cousin titled "Jesus Gandhi Jetta Mae Adams," a murder mystery set in Columbus, Ohio and am starting my second novel.