Once upon a time there was a little old lady who lived all alone. She outlived her husband, her children, and her friends. She was deeply depressed. She cut herself off from the world, and rarely left her house. Her doctor tried in vain to help, and finally refered her to a brilliant psychologist.
On examination, the psychologist discovered that the woman only ventured out of her home for three reasons: To buy groceries, to attend church, and to work in her garden.
Her garden was filled with african violets, creating a blanket of purple wonderment and joy. It was the one thing that brought happiness to her lonely existance.
"As none of the medications we have tried, have provided a cure, I want you to try this perscription: Ask the Church to notify you each time therre is a birth, a death, or a wedding, then send a bouquet of your lovely violets for the ceremony."
Years later, the miracle of the good Doctors advice became apparent when over three hundred people attened the funeral of The Violet Lady, and spoke of the many ways that her kindness had touched their lives.
By reaching out, with her flowers, she planted seeds of love, and cultivated a family. The entire community became the flowers of her garden.
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8 comments:
Kel, this story touches my heart in ways I cannot explain. I think I'm going to copy this post and take it into my staff meeting on Monday. Kel, posts like this make blogging a worthwhile expense of time. Thank you so much for posting.
Thanks Tree. How Sweet.
If you want to use it, please give credit to Dr. Erickson.
He is the one who gave the perscription. (It's a true story.)
Im sorry I dont rememberr his first name. I have been telling this story in my classes for years.
You could probably find the orginal verson on the net somewhere.
Ooooh, the fact that this story is true makes it all the more golden. I would have never guessed. Thanks for sharing the additional info.
I'm making my management calls today to a handful of sales reps I work with. I'm reading this story to each one. They love it.
Kel, check out this site. It has an article on Erickson from a soon to be published book and toward the end is the story of the violet lady. The entire article is wonderful.
http://www.healingdoc.com/articles/2005/11/erickson-as-healer.php
What a wonderful story! :)
Lovely lovely.
It also made me realize I only left the house in February to let the dogs go potty.
Spring cannot come soon enough!
And then I need to get a worthy hobby.
Hi Kelley,
Thank you for this wonderful story. I could see it happening. I could picture the flowers growing and the lady giving them. It doesn't matter that Dr. Ericson did it, the way you told it made the impression. Thank you.
Liz,
As you well know, stories like this are the pebbles we cast into the water. They are meant to ripple onward and outward, from one person to the next, growing over time with the telling.
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