“When Helen fell and broke her pelvis she was healing for quite a long time. It gave me the chance to sit and talk, to listen to her for long periods of time.” – Jeff Fraas

Ancient Wisdom

There are not many of us who remember 1932 and can talk about it firsthand. That was the year Helen Demaree was born. Can you imagine the changes she’s seen during her lifetime? Luckily, her nephew Jeff Fraas, a writer, has been able to learn much of what Helen has to offer by spending time with her and “just listening.”

“When Helen fell and broke her pelvis she was healing for quite a long time. It gave me the chance to sit and talk, to listen to her for long periods of time,” Jeff told me a couple of days ago, as we were visiting together in Helen’s home.

Helen, Jeff and I were gathered in Helen’s home, going through every item therein with her. Some may have thought it was an extra difficult task, due to the time commitment. But, Jeff has a different perspective.

“Can you imagine living alone and not having anyone to talk with for more than a year?” He asked earnestly, while moving some boxes from Helen’s sewing room onto the kitchen counter, where Helen transformed each material item from just “stuff” into a treasured memory. And, Helen’s memory has not faltered.

Jeff and I didn’t want to say too much because of the enveloping, flooding memories, headed toward our ears.

“Each generation believes they’re at center of the universe,” Jeff quietly and enlighteningly said to me. “In some ways we’re having to start all over, because we don’t always take the time to learn the circular lessons of living.”

Then, Jeff morphed into a physicist. He explained the process of understanding time as more than a strictly linear notion. “You’ve heard the phrase, ‘time is cyclical?’” He asked. “History is filled with examples of civilization cycles,” Jeff continued. “Those cycles are exactly what I’m talking about.”

Then, we watched Helen cycle out of the now, as she picked up another item and began to tell us about it. She told us about the memory and how it was tied to the people in her life. Some of those people are still physically in her life and some are not. Yet, as she described the people and the moments they shared, they were seemingly in the room with us. We were privileged to join them in a renewed cycle. We were hearing about them firsthand.

There are not many of us who remember 1932 and can talk about it firsthand. But, Helen Demaree can and does. That was the year Helen Demaree was born. Can you imagine the changes she’s seen during her lifetime? Luckily, her nephew Jeff Fraas, a writer, has been able to learn much of what Helen has to offer by spending time with her and “just listening.”

What can you learn by just listening?

Watch the latest episode of my show on American Dream TV. Click the link below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fQmn4Fhlr7ftMqEjb64VFw1eCCK-YAZx/view?usp=drive_link