On August 1st a significant mentor in my life left this planet. You may know of Frank Cunningham because of Vesper Time, his splendid memoir on aging. Frank was the publisher at Ave Maria Press in 1984 when, with fear and trembling, I submitted my first manuscript. I owe so much to Frank for believing in my ability to write at a time when I was filled with qualms, questioning if “being an author” was the direction my life was headed. Through the years since that initial publication Frank affirmed my work and taught me a lot about how to write. Gradually he became not only a valued mentor but a treasured friend.
As I reflect on our relationship, I recall a humble statement by the well-respected political analyst, Mark Shields. When Shields retired, he was asked by PBS Newshour about his highly successful work. In response, Shields referred to something his parents taught him in his youth, a valued wisdom that guided his entire life: “Everyone of us has been warmed by fires we did not build and everyone of us has drunk from wells we did not dig.” Small wonder, then, that Mark Shields never came across as ego-driven or arrogant. He consistently lived and worked as a principled, humble man.
Whoever we are and whatever our life has attained in terms of success and satisfaction, we can be sure we did not accomplish our achievements by ourselves alone. This reality is reflected in “Standing On the Shoulders,” a beautiful song by Joyce Rouse (aka Earth Mama). It directly attests to how much others influence the way we go about our lives. One of the verses contains the following:
I am standing on the shoulders of the ones who came before me.
I am stronger for their courage, I am wiser for their words.
I am lifted by their longing for a fair and brighter future.
I am grateful for their vision, for their toiling on this Earth.
This song reminds me not only of how persons like Frank Cunningham have influenced my past and present, it also encourages me to keep hope alive when it starts to dwindle and take a nose-dive. Being optimistic, as you well know, is not easy to do when the world is ablaze with wildfires, drenched in floods, burnt up by drought, and influenced by political leaders on whose shoulders we ought never stand, lest our civilization crumble into ashes. I know that for me to remain hopeful I must keep in mind the people whose talents and virtues paved the way for others and myself to live out of the best of who we are.
As if to confirm these thoughts, Good Morning America on August 29th had a piece on Grammy-winning performance poet, J. Ivy, having a conversation with Paula Argue, his High School teacher—thanking her for how she recognized and encouraged his remarkable poetic ability.
In Vesper Time, Frank began his chapter on “Gratitude” with this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” Not only “all things” but all people, each and every one—known and unknown, who have influenced our lives in a positive, inspiring manner. So this month let’s recall on whose shoulders we stand, and know how fortunate we are to have them.
Abundant peace,
~ Joyce Rupp
Excerpted from: Anchors for the Soul, Joyce Rupp
“Community”
Branches touch,
limbs assure one another,
“I’m here.”
No matter how fierce the storm,
“I’m here.”
In spite of how jagged
and torn the branches,
“I’m here
beside you through the long
turbulent nights.
I’ll reach to connect
with you
in the wildest of winds.
Be assured of my presence.
Have confidence.
I’m here.”
(This selection can also be found in Joyce’s My Soul Feels Lean)
