There are Years that ask Questions and Years that Answer…

**Why, What When, Where, and How will this year go**?

Dear Reader:

The nice thing about attaining longevity in life is the opportunity it allows you to discover the answers you sought for years ago?

After my initial breast cancer diagnosis in 2008 … my questions centered around time -how much would I have to watch my family grow and expand… fourteen years later… more time than I ever dreamed. Five grandchildren from ages 12-4!

Jeopardy gained its claim to fame by simply reversing the normal sequence of an answer following a question? Instead … the contestants had to give their answer in the form of a question . When I checked to see why… it wasn’t any deep-seated psychological reason but just a new twist to capture the audience’s attention. It worked!

Actually self-questioning is something that doesn’t come easy for us mortals. It means we have to have the ” come to ourselves ” meeting that we would rather avoid. Yet… when we do finally come face to face with ourselves … we usually leave feeling a lot lighter.

German poet ( Rainer Maria Rilke) urges us to ” Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. Do not seek the answers which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them and the point is to live everything. Live the questions now…”

So until tomorrow… we have to learn which questions are worth asking. We must wait until we are ready to live the answers… that starts with first living the questions. Then we can ask because we must be ready, be open to the changes that the answers will bring.

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

*** And speaking of asking questions… Why won’t my morning glories bloom? We have had much cooler temps the last couple of weeks with mainly overcast skies with interval showers… they should be happy. The leaves look big and green and healthy… but no blooms??? I am ready to ” live” the question and answer!!!!

One group of morning glories have spread to a portion of the newly renovated fence my neighbor fixed… not sure he wants leaves growing on the new fence… time will tell… but if the fence was decorated with beautiful Violet morning glories… hey… that might make a difference! Please bloom… you can do it!!!

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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