Quiet
Power
“I have
worked hard to give up attaining a place ordained by others in the
world, for this always leads me into noise, confusion, and
gruffness.”
Mark Nepo
(The Book of Awakening, p.192)
I attended an art auction
last night as the guest of my friend, Rebecca. The auction was to raise money
for a program for adults with autism spectrum disorders. It was a
tremendous success by anyone's standards—hundreds of people, a good
band, not blasting everyone's ears off, and delicious food and drink. Loads of
art was sold, and the artists with autism received 60% of the
proceeds from the sale of their art. The woman who founded, and still
runs the program, Studio by the Tracks, in Irondale, Alabama, has the
most Southern of all Southern names—Ila Faye Miller. (Irondale is
the setting for Fannie Farmer's book, Fried Green Tomatoes at the
Whistle Stop Cafe. The restaurant is still there; still serves truly yummy Southern soul food.)
Ila Faye is a quiet,
unobtrusive person, who gave up a life of wealth and privilege to
move into the upper floor of a small, white two story building in
Irondale, which is literally by the tracks. She started the Studio by
the Tracks program in 1989, and today has a fleet of volunteers and
part time employees who provide classes and guidance to the many
people who come there everyday. Last night, in that warehouse full of
patrons of the arts, you would never have picked Ila Faye out as the
CEO of a flagship program.
Mark Nepo records in The
Book of Awakening a quote from the Oracle of Sumiyoshi, Japan:
“I have no power of miracle other than the attainment of quiet
happiness. I have no tact except the exercise of gentleness.”
In a world in which we equate power with people who are gold-clad and
ostentatiously wealthy, I would refer you to Ila Faye Miller. Her
quiet happiness, and obvious success comes from hard work,
perseverance, and a genuinely gentle spirit that draws people to her like
a superconducting magnet. That's the power of her miracle, and it
works not only for her, but for “the least of these.”
In the Spirit,
Jane
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