Last night, as I was sleeping,
I dreamt – marvelous error! –
that I had a beehive
here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
were making white combs
and sweet honey
from my old failures.
— excerpt from “Last Night As I Was Sleeping” by Antonio Machado

The sweetest honey of all has been to fall in love with writing and heal the gaping ache from the sense of abject failure I had experienced in the past.

Even more than the “product” of a book to hold in my hands is the delicious new reality of finding my way into delight. It felt fragile at first. I was tentative, wary of criticism from myself or imagined from others. Then, as I found my writing voice, I began to trust that words and stories would come. And more, I began to enjoy letting memories flow onto the page.

Once I let go of the gripping fear, the sense that I wasn’t good enough—once I began to look forward, I often felt awash with gratitude. It was the visceral feeling of old failures giving way to sweet offerings. It healed the open wound that I thought I would die with.

It didn’t happen overnight. It took our year of writing and deepening reflections to believe in the healing. I stepped into a new space of self-acceptance, belief in myself in this unexpected way, and then (marvelous turn) the desire to offer this gift to others, sensing I may not be alone on this path of ache and possibility.

I’d always thought I had to resolve or make peace with my inadequacies on my own. Here, the organic creation of trustworthy partnering was the key. Here were my “golden bees creating nectar from past failures.” I will be forever moved and grateful.

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Penny Williamson
I am a founding facilitator and mentor for the Center for Courage Renewal, as well as an educator, and coach for leaders in health care and other serving professions. I bring an ecological worldview and deep attention to inner life to everything I do. When I’m not writing or facilitating, you’ll find me cooking, hiking, reading, or traveling. My new book: Writing Together: A Year of Meaning Making and Friendship, Penny Williamson and Darcy Shaw.

What’s Your Story?

In her reflection, Penny Williamson shares the toll she has long carried from her experience of abject failure – at least as she perceived it. She doesn’t cite the specifics; there is no need for her to do so.

Many of us can relate to a time when we failed at something, and how that failure led to fear of more of the same. The dread increased over time, leading us to doubt ourselves even more, and avoid situations that might expose us to greater scrutiny and criticism. It is a cycle that is difficult to break.

But break it, she did. Through a partnership that gave her the space, time, and confidence to write, she was able to find her voice. Her delight in being able to “trust that words and stories would continue to come” is palpable. We can feel with her the joy and expansiveness of this self-healing, grateful to hear that she’s able to move forward.

Her candid sharing of her experience allows each of us to ask ourselves, “What sweet honey have you made out of old failures?”

We hope that you, like Penny, will share your story and enable others to do the same. As she has demonstrated, you can do this without sharing details. You can keep that part private while sharing your journey from failure to sweet honey.

Why write? Perhaps your words will resonate with another and help them find self-acceptance, even joy. The power of words to connect, to bring people together to discover what we may have in common or what we can learn from those who have different perspectives – is at the heart of Building Bridges Word by Word.

Click on the button below for next steps and story guidelines. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you to post your story here on Substack and on the Building Bridges Word by Word website.

Share Your Story

Winner of November Book Giveaway!

Each month, we have a drawing for an autographed book written by outstanding authors. All paid subscribers and those whose submissions are selected for posting on our Substack are entered into the drawings. The winners are picked randomly, notified by email, and announced here.

Congratulations to Nancy Griffin for winning November’s Book Giveaway - an autographed copy of Leni De Mik’s How Shall I Stand Between River and Land? Thanks to Leni for generously donating her book. To learn more, check out our Substack post about this remarkable book.

Thanks also to Nancy for her thoughtful reflection, There’s a gift in this for you, about how she came to value and cultivate the habit of seeking gifts, especially during challenging circumstances.

December Book Giveaway

This month, we’re doing something different. Instead of giving away an autographed book, we’re featuring the virtual Takoma Park Book Fair (TPBK) where you can buy multiple books and arrange for them to be signed.

Something unique for everyone on your holiday list!

The TPBK Book Fair is December 5-15th. Authors (in MD, DC, and VA) have until the evening of December 5th to sign up to participate. For details, see our TPBK Book Fair announcement and keep a look out for posts of the participating authors and their books on the TKBK Facebook page, our website (link coming soon), and here on Substack.

Authors: Are you interested in having your book be one of our Book Giveaways? It’s a great way to share your book with others and support our efforts to build bridges. For details, check out the “Calling All Authors” section at the end of this post.