Sweet Pea is monumental despite smallness. Her expression, a reminder to keep an ‘arm around the shoulder’ of our little spirit, so we too can feel the comfort and the power of the collective ‘me’ – in all its forms and flaws and misadventures. Direct our lives from within (and before). All the while encompassing the full and blooming range of vital emotion that got us here.
Sweet Pea’s arrival story:
I’m on a swing between rage and exhilaration. Glad I have both or I’d be wrapped around a pole in chains. But I’m swinging high and riding through the back swing that has me face down in the dirt. Then legs swing through to the rescue. The sky opens and says;
‘Hello little spirit. Let go now Sweet Pea. You can fly …’
…in a land of smiles, bad things happened. Children were broken into. Nothing said. Nothing done. And so the innocent grew, not up, but small. But this was not to be the end. In the darkness little helpers gathered spilling rich black into soft white sheets. Tailoring picture books to fill empty spaces. Telling truth that grew much taller than a world too big to fit. Until size no longer mattered and little souls were reawakened by the rhythms and rhymes of songs that carried them all the way home – ensuring they’d never be beaten again.
Footnote: This story (from 2009) reflects The Black Dog Project’s focus on the safety, well being and rights of children and young people – and the idea of making books and gifting them to young people in the community through sponsorship. Written long before the explosion of social media, the ‘Children were broken into. Things stolen.’ now also reflects the impact of Smartphones and social media on children and young people. Find this piece in Clunk & Jam book. Original story in handmade book, ‘Rock The Boat’, 2009. (Handwriting by Maggie).
And the Little Engine said; “I think I can. I think I can.”
‘The Little Engine That Could’ is a folktale originating from 1906 used to teach children the value of optimism and hard work. The underlying theme is a stranded train unable to find an engine willing to take it on over the difficult terrain to its destination. Only the little blue engine is willing to try and, while repeating the ‘I think I can’ mantra, overcomes a seemingly impossible task.
A good story to ride on when things seem impossible. And a reminder of the importance of little blue engines in life.
Rose was very curious about the origin of sadness .
Rose welcomes all forms of feeling with a particular interest in ones of the socially unacceptable kind. She has pioneered many expeditions into the realms of fear, sadness, anger, disillusionment and horrible muddled states of mind with quite profound results and a significant degree of personal resolve. Long Live Rose.
Stories are at the center of everything. The most powerful and potentially debilitating being the ones inside our head. The stories we tell ourselves. The erosive stories we’ve been told. Stories formed from our experiences. That’s why it’s so vital we have access to and seek out alternative stories that give us strength and hope. Help us realise our full potential. Particularly our children and young people.
