Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Brother-Sister Act


I am co-authoring a book on spirituality with my sister Sharon Clymer Landis. Whenever I tell people about it, they get a puzzled look on their face. I’m never sure what their reaction is about. You have a sister? Well, yes, I have seven of them. You have a sister who writes? Yes, and better than me I might add. You have a sister interested in spirituality? You mean you get along with your sister well enough to work together? And so on, I imagine.

We really believe that this brother-sister act strengthens our views on spirituality. We may be close in relationship, but differ in many ways. Male-female, extrovert-introvert, story teller-poet, world traveler-farmer’s spouse are the most obvious of many divergent perspectives we present to our readers. So, at the request of our publisher, we decided to
write up a little statement about ourselves to include in the introduction. Here it is:

*     *     *

Sharon and Don are brother and sister, having grown up in a large family of 11 siblings. Having so many siblings resulted in what appears to be two different families. Don was in the first half of the family, Sharon in the second. They barely knew each other growing up. Don is male and Sharon is female giving varying interpretations of what it meant to belong to this huge clan. Don was extroverted and the life of the party while Sharon was shy and into her own world.

Somehow in midlife, they both became aware of something they had in common; a mystical bent to life. Don discovered his while dealing with the grinding oppression he encountered in Latin America as a mission worker. Sharon didn’t have to discover hers, it was always present, she just needed tools to name what she was experiencing. Both received training as spiritual directors without the other knowing it. What fun it was to suddenly discover a new sister and a new brother! Thus began our journey together in putting together this book!

*     *     *

So that’s how the story goes, in case you are one of those with a puzzled look on your face. 

4 comments:

  1. How cool Don! I have learned I have siblings too- at least I have learned they have their own lives and yearnings, and sometimes these have intersected with my own life and yearnings. Write on!

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  2. Thanks, Steve, for your encouraging words. Siblings can be both a bane and a blessing. But how we band together when family crises hit! Keep playing that guitar!

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  3. Yes so true. Different familes, different worlds, shared experiences. Very well described. A captivating blurb to entice a reader!

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  4. Thanks for your comments and support Elle. Another one of my siblings with a "mystical bent."

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