It is so cold today that I am wearing a heavy wool sweater. It makes me smile because it’s my husband’s high school sweater. It is a hand-me-down. I love hand-me-downs because they have a story.
This led me to think: are hand me downs only about clothing and other physical things? This last Sunday I co-taught Foundation class with Caitlin and Cindy which has four sections and in each section, I and my co-instructor shared stories about our experiences with the foundational method covered by that section. I am now thinking, perhaps these stories are hand-me-down wisdom.
The foundational methods of the first two sections were meditation and energy clearing. We shared our stories then led the class participants in the foundational activity of meditation for the first section and energy clearing for the second. In doing so, we sought to give the participants an experience of our hand-me-down wisdom. In essence, each participant got to try on our energetic wool sweaters.
Why is sharing hand-me-down wisdom important?
I think the sharing gives others a sense of willingness to try something new – something they might otherwise think is “too far out”. When we hear a story about an experience, we get curious. Our class activities were simple enough to engage each participant actively and fully in their own experience, and each participant, through that experience, started to develop their own hand-me-down wisdom.
After each activity we had time to share, ask questions, and nurture our collective curiosity, cementing the newly received wisdom.
Hand-me-downs can certainly transcend the physical stuff. A hand-me-down can be any experience shared with another – the gift of a wool sweater of wisdom.
Pretty cool!
Big Hugs and Much Love,
Cindy
