Epiphany (Just a Little One)

I started out today, grumpy and dissatisfied. After a walk with my little canine companion, Henry, I was no longer grumpy … but still dissatisfied and feeling lost, aimless.

“Must I resign myself to being discontent?” … and other similar sorts of questions that I don’t want to bore you with (and, frankly, am somewhat embarrassed to admit) plagued my mind. I’ll admit to having periods of uncertainty that I’m still on the “right” course for my life.

So I decided to fix myself some breakfast. And, as I filled the shallow bowl with Pink Lady apple wedges and Scottish cheddar, a smile crossed my face.

This bowl always makes me think of those little plates that maybe your mom fed you from when you were a little kid: The ones where, as you clean your plate, a picture is gradually revealed.

But that memory is not the only thing that makes me smile. I smile as I think of my friend Beth, who made this bowl just for me. I might never have known Beth had it not been for our production of the WNC Highlands Celtic Festival; Beth, as “Cat’s Paw Potterie,” was one of our vendors.

I have other treasures that evoke similar memories:

Leather medallion crafted by Timothy, a vendor at Caloosahatchee Celtic Festival. 

 Earrings bearing the Celtic Heritage Heart, commissioned by Denise, a friend met through our festivals.

Gifts that were given me because of a relationship forged through festival production.

And then I think of the relationships with various musicians with whom I’ve worked, some of who have become family to me.

Which leads me to consider the many friends who are now in my life, all met through festival production.

Festival production. A thing that was not even on my radar as a high school senior planning her future. A thing that was not even a remote consideration as I left one vocation (teaching high school math) to set out on another (playing the hammer dulcimer). A thing that, in fact, Greg and I sort of fell into as a friend called me after seeing a newspaper article about my playing: “Hey, Elvis! Now that you’re famous,” he said, “how about putting on a little event for me?”

I'm not even remotely considering giving up festival production! But as I think about how this completely unplanned-for thing has become such a satisfying and rewarding part of my life, I'm a little less anxious about other things that life may hold for me yet. 

Friends who know me, know I’m not a planner … except when I am. They know I’m not a risk-taker … except when I am. They may know that uncertainty both excites me and scares me. My Life Path thus far has been both predictable … and decidedly unpredictable.

Realizing all this, I’m a little less discontented, a little less dissatisfied, and maybe a little less impatient, as I wait to see how the Path unfolds in front of me.