A Christmas Story
Do you have a Christmas Story? To whom do you dedicate it? In this episode of Wisdom of Ages, host Ayn Cates Sullivan and guest Bruce L. Erickson have their deep conversation about a Christmas story. Bruce wrote a Christmas story for his wife before her death and promised her that he would remember her with a story each year. He recites a heart story, “The Store of All We Treasure.” In the tale, a snow owl follows a man who has forgotten the true meaning of life. Tune in to know how Bruce’s life changed as he took a flight to London.
Ayn Cates Sullivan:
Welcome friends and mystical travelers. This is Ayn Cates Sullivan, host of Wisdom of the Ages and author of the Sparkle Series for children and the Legends of the Grail series for adults. Now, today I have a different sort of story for you. Now, I have a Swedish Uncle, that’s not really my Uncle, but I call him my Swedish Uncle. Bruce L. Ericson and years ago, Bruce was staying with us and I think it was back in about 2003. My children were little at the time. He told us a Christmas story, which was called, The Story of all we Treasure, and I never forgot the story. So I asked Bruce this particular Christmas if he would recite because he’s going to do an oral recitation if he would recite this beautiful story that he wrote quite some time ago. Even the story behind the story is very touching. I’ll let him tell me that.
Bruce L. Erickson is the founder of the Heart Works Center. You can check that out on heartworkscenter.org.
It’s a really interesting site. All about health and wellbeing and so forth. Anyway, uncle Bruce, I want to welcome you to Wisdom of the Ages.
Bruce L. Erickson:
Thank you, Ayn. Thank you. A pleasure to be here. And pleasure for me to tell the story, it has been a long time, but it’s very dear to me.
Ayn Cates Sullivan:
Well, I think we could all sort of get our cup of eggnog and put our feet up and get ready to enter this very interesting world that you created. Now you told me if I have this correctly, that you wrote this for your wife who passed away, I believe in 1999, is that correct?
Bruce L. Erickson:
Yes, it is. Â
Ayn Cates Sullivan:
Do you want to tell us just a little bit about that?
Bruce L. Erickson:
Well, I had made a point through our marriage that I would write her stories and poems. At a certain point, she turned to me and said, “Bruce, you have to make a promise you’ll always write me a Christmas story, a story at Christmas for my birthday.” I said, well, I’d love to and it happens that in this particular story, they’re things about it that are actually, that really happened. Okay, they’re not fiction or invented. They were actually places and circumstances and people that all contributed to it. It was just in a period of, I would say this cosmic revelation or divine revelation, the story just flowed out of me. I’ve always been very proud of it. I just loved it and loved it. Jackie shared it all over where she was working at the office. She read it for all the women in the office.
Ayn Cates Sullivan:
That’s so beautiful, Bruce. I really hope that wherever it is, that she’ll join in and listen from the other world, as you tell the story again. We’ll dedicate the story today, the episode today to her wellbeing. Also to all the people around the world today who need this story. I mean, stories always help us walk into the light don’t they?
Bruce L. Erickson:
Yes. They do. And the interesting part about it is, is that in this particular case, all the symbolism and everything else is actually all true. As I tell people who’ve heard the story, I said the interesting part about it is that in writing and experiences it was also a mystical journey for me because that’s exactly what it was. I didn’t realize at the time, but I was a participant in the journey myself. For that, there are some things in a life that just warms our heart just from having the experience in our life.
Ayn Cates Sullivan:
Absolutely. It’s so true. So I’ll tell you what we’ll do during the quick ad break. And then when we come back, I’m going to just turn you loose to tell this tale. I’m really looking forward to listening again and to probably hearing in an entirely new way. Okay everybody stay tuned, we’ll be right back.
Bruce L. Erickson:
Good.
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