Daily Gratitude: “You Can Be Larger Than Life ByBeing
Smaller Than Everyone Else.”

I think this was Dolly’s secret to success in all aspects of her life. Even early on she recognized that she was being held back on the Porter Wagoner show. She also knew that she had to be careful about how she made her exit. Sure, it was different back then because she was a woman. But she also could have stayed.

Porter initiated a lawsuit but eventually Dolly was able to leave. Despite all the hassle he caused her, she wrote “I’ll always love you” to show him how important he was to her and what he meant to her. It’s hard for someone to be angry with if you’ve written such a beautiful song. She was putting him first and telling the world how important he was.

She has done this all her life. She never demanded that people tell her she’s great or that they are so grateful. Many of her humanitarian acts weren’t even that well known or advertised. And she did it all quietly and personally – the personal aspect is key, I think.

For instance, her imagination library sends books directly to the children, not to the town or some organization. When she was helping flood victims she sent money to each family, not to a big pot where who knows what could happen in the distribution. All the stories told about her by people show that the memories are memorable because of the one on one interaction.

Listen to her songs too. Most of them make another be the important character. For instance you could think of Coat of Many Colors as a poor me type song or about bullies. But it’s about her mother and what she made for Dolly AND what she taught Dolly. Look at the lyrics for Joshua and you’ll see her wanting to give to another human the love and kindness she has (and also wants).

Even when Barbara Walters and Oprah tried to shoot her down in their interviews she just responded nicely, standing up for herself with both facts and jokes but never shooting back which most of us would want to do.

What a lesson in living this woman gave us.

Once in a while

Daily Gratitude: “Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.”

I know I’m still on a Dolly “kick” but frankly I don’t think there’s a much better kick to be on.

She was a motivational speaker, a mediator, a success guru, a spiritual leader and a Mother Teresa clone – all wrapped up into one.

I watched the Grand Ole Opry tribute to Dolly Parton last night and continued to be astounded by the stories and connections every person has. The speaker said she was the most beloved person on earth. And that just hit me as a perfect description.

It’s amazing how much we can learn from this one beautiful (and not just in looks) human being.

So even if you’re not a country music fan, you most likely know who Dolly Parton was. It’s worthwhile though to take time to shine the light deeper and find out who she really was and then to try to be like her in at least one way. 

• Be kind and generous.  
• Give life your all. 
• Don’t let discouragement get you down.  
• Dream big. 
• Work hard. 
• Be true to yourself.  
• Never sell out.  
• Never give up on something you really want and that will serve others.

Be like Dolly.

Daily Gratitude: “Rivers meander for good reason: they obey the land.”

Flexibility has never been my strong point, either physically or in general. I am much more flexible in life now after learning about my parts (through IFS – Internal Family Systems).

So much of being inflexible is because of fear and lack of faith. We fear loss of control. And what’s most ironic and makes us really laugh is when we realize we actually have no control over anything. There is, perhaps, the appearance of control and that provides comfort. But it’s an illusion.

Just as the quote says, the river obeys the land. The land is hard, non-moving. It’s an obstacle, an obstruction. The river knows that if it wants to get to its ultimate goal, or even to just keep flowing if it doesn’t know its ultimate goal, it has to find a way around the rocks and obstructions. So it just flows and lets the land take it where it’s allowed.

Why do we think we have more power, more say than the river. That’s an illusion too. We’ll reach our destination if we let things happen and not fight so much. The universe (or whatever power you believe in) has a plan for you. It’s a lot stronger than you are. So who do you think is going to “win” in the long run?

Why not make it easier and just go with the flow. Stop resisting everything that happens in your life. Your inner spirit knows what is the correct path, the right riverbed to follow. Allow that spirit to guide you.

This happened with my book recently. I tonight I was done. I made a “mistake” and asked for input. The input pointed out things that were deficient. More editing was needed.

The old me would have had a tizzy and fought it, or given up or who knows what I would have done. The current me, though, acknowledged my disappointment and then said “ok let’s get to work”.

I’m so glad this happened. I’ve seen so much as i floated down the new path the river found by obeying the land. Definitely a lesson learned.