“I’m not comfortable talking about my strengths, but there is one thing I know I am good at. I have talent, an instinct for finding what teaches me. Even when what I need presents itself in the most unlikely form.”

Sue Bender

Chapter Six in Everyday Sacred: A Women’s Journey Home by Sue Bender, “Objects as Teachers,” asks us to consider what we may learn from objects in our lives. For her, it is bowls. She connects bowls with patience, beauty, open heartedness, culture, and much more. What she learns from bowls makes me think about what objects teach me. It makes me think of gifts, and what I have learned from what I have both given and been given. Sideways, in lesson-learning mode, it makes me think of what the natural world teaches me: seeds and trees, the sun and moon, and butterflies and cats. It also makes me think of the things I have collected throughout my life: Knowles plates, rocks and sand and shells, books of all description, small boxes from trips I have taken, and race medals.

Objects teach me the power of memory and journey and home. Objects teach me the lessons of story. Objects teach me I am not alone. Objects teach me about style and perception. In particular, the objects I create — primarily, the things I write — teach me about my voice and my strength. Writing teaches me about the value of practice and, as Seth Godin explains, shipping (sharing what we create). Writing teaches me about my thirst for learning and thinking and telling about it all.