Hello to you listening in Omaha, Nebraska!
Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is 60 Seconds - and a bit more - for Story Prompt Friday on Christmas Eve.
On Christmas Eve in 1513 Fra Giovanni Giocondo wrote this letter to his friend the Countess Allagia Aldobrandeschi. It was a favorite of my mother’s.
Letter Written by Fra Giovanni
"I am your friend and my love for you goes deep. There is nothing I can give you which you have not got, but there is much, very much, that, while I cannot give it, you can take.
No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in it today. Take heaven!
No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present little instant. Take peace!
The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach is joy. There is radiance and glory in the darkness could we but see - and to see we have only to look. I beseech you to look and take joy!Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its gifts by the covering, cast them away as ugly, or heavy or hard. Remove the covering and you will find beneath it a living splendor, woven of love, by wisdom, with power.
Welcome it, grasp it, touch the angel's hand that brings it to you. Everything we call a trial, a sorrow, or a duty, believe me, that angel's hand is there, the gift is there, and the wonder of an overshadowing presence. Our joys, too, be not content with them as joys. They, too, conceal diviner gifts.
Life is so full of meaning and purpose, so full of beauty - beneath its covering - that you will find earth but cloaks your heaven.
Courage, then, to claim it, that is all. But courage you have, and the knowledge that we are all pilgrims together, wending through unknown country, home.
And so, at this time, I greet you. Not quite as the world sends greetings, but with profound esteem and with the prayer that for you now and forever, the day breaks, and the shadows flee away."
Story Prompt: Who will you greet with joy, esteem and prayers as the day breaks? Write that story!
Practical Tip: The magic of stories is also in the sharing. If you wish share your story with someone or something. All that matters is you have a story.
NOTE: Born in Venice, Giocondo would become an Italian Franciscan friar, Renaissance pioneer, and more. In 1496 Giocondo was invited to France by the King and made Royal Architect. If you've ever been to Paris and walked across the beautiful bridges Pont Notre-Dame or the Petit Pont - both of these were designed by Giocondo.
60 Seconds is your daily dose of hope, imagination, wisdom, stories, practical tips, and general riffing on this and that. This is the place to thrive together. Come for the stories - stay for the magic. Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, follow, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, including Android, and join us next time! You’re invited to stop by the website and subscribe to stay current with Diane, her journeys, her guests, as well as creativity, imagination, walking, stories, camaraderie, and so much more: Quarter Moon Story Arts
Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team
Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts
Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music
All content and image © 2019 - Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts
