In the End What Matters…is What One Scatters

Dear Reader:

Occasionally I like to look back on earlier posts written the same month or season I am in now…and see what was on my mind back then….compare and contrast my thoughts about life and my place in it.

When I “accidentally” came across the idea in the title quote…I paused. If anything, this thought is more timely now than five years ago.

Now I am trying harder to disperse my gatherings through a continuous “down-sizing,” scattering project that never ceases.

I separate clothing, household articles, books, etc. in boxes or bags…throw away the torn, tattered or broken, save some memorabilia for the grandchildren, ask a friend or neighbor if they want something, give to a charity…Oh how I wish I could simply scatter the bulk of my belongings to the wind and let nature disperse  it all as seen fit. (If only it was that easy!) 🙂

I, also, wish I could have been a  Johnny Appleseed scattering apple seeds along the pioneer trails of our country’s frontier or perhaps a Hilda Edwards, the “Lupine Lady” who spread gorgeous purple lupine flowering blooms throughout Maine...scattering beauty wherever she went. These “scatterings” would be concrete and visual to many…everlasting.

I will have to settle, I think, hopefully for scatterings of memories left behind me when I leave.

Here is an excerpt from the original post written September 23, 2015… titled using today’s quote by Helen Walton:

” It’s not what you gather but what you scatter…that tells what kind of life you’ve lived.” 

Dear Reader:

Don’t we all remember our first taste of any kind of knowledge of world history? It all started with the notion of early man being divided into two roles by gender- male hunters and female gatherers…Even as an elementary student with no concept of world history…it did seem unfair to me that man got to be the hunter and woman got stuck with the gathering.

hunter-gatherer-cartoon-by-Bizarro

Surely there were some women warriors mixed in with the dinosaur slayers….but since nobody could  tell her story through writings…these female warriors just faded from history.

Today, however, with men and women hunting and gathering (dual roles) side by side…we have to look for one more role (that sets humans apart from our ancient ancestors) to bring spiritual meaning into our existence…the role of scattering. Hunters, Gatherers, and Scatterers. 

Don’t we all want to leave “scatterings” of ourselves around when we are gone? I know I am guilty of wanting these “scatterings” of memory to be strong, positive ones. But yet…aren’t the best family stories the funny ones about our mistakes we made along the way?

Isn’t leaving a “scattering” of smiles and chuckles behind us….perhaps better than a “scattering” of serious and sad memories of our departure…over-riding our embarkation of life with arms flung wide open?

So until tomorrow…Let us remember that scattering sometimes takes awhile to show itself to others…but when it does…it tells the most accurate version of our life story…the story of what we leave behind.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Soft rains have descended this afternoon…I do believe it is about to lull me to sleep…a luscious nap is calling me. I finished all my errands yesterday before the rains came…

While pulling out of a dirt road…I saw this mailbox decorated with pumpkins and loved the name of the location. I do believe it was a God Wink! And speaking of…I am “winking” off as of…now! 🙂

 

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”
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2 Responses to In the End What Matters…is What One Scatters

  1. Rachel Edwards says:

    I loved the book Miss Rumphious…read it to the children at OES…hope to see you soon.

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