*Today we would be manifesting our Work. It was a perfect day in June. Sweet perfumes floated on the air as a fitful sun played hide and seek amongst the clouds. Green grass glistened with the brilliance of dew. Sherborne House was hosting a Spring Fête.
Besides the Spring Fête, today was June 8, Mr. Bennett’s birthday. A mystical light shone down through the clouds upon the manor house and the grounds. Sherborne was a beehive of activity.
Manifesting a Role
Jack had been chosen House Supervisor for the big day. His role was to see that the house duties ran smoothly. The entire course was gathered in the Horse Parlor after breakfast. From his seat on the floor, Jack spoke,
“A lot is going on today. We are all going to be busy and there’s bound to be loose ends. If you see something that needs to be done, do it.”
No one needed to see who was speaking. We knew each other’s voices. Indeed, we knew each other’s coughs. Jack said, “No doubt you will see something that needs attention and think someone else will take care of it because you’re busy and you’re an exception.” He paused, looking down.
“Then everyone is an exception which means no one is an exception.”
After a few minutes of silence, we rose, quickly exiting the room to attend to our assigned duties.
As I walked down the corridor by the kitchen, I saw Elizabeth and Annette. Annette was dressed in her green kaftan, looking stylish as usual. She had a clipboard in her hands, taking notes as Elizabeth’s assistant event coordinator. Elizabeth was in her everyday dun-colored skirt and white blouse, manifesting her usual practical calm.
They were trying to figure out how the food was to get out of the kitchen and onto the back lawn where the guests were to be. There was no direct route, which was a conundrum.
Demonstrating the Work
Someone walked up and mentioned a window and they went to look.
There it was, a two-by-three-foot opening high up on the wall in the old wine cellar. Brilliant. The food could be chained from the kitchen and passed through the window to the servers outside.
The play group would perform the final event that afternoon on a stage built upon the rise of ground under the giant hemlocks. But chairs still needed to be set up for the audience, and the game booths were not yet draped and decorated. Plus, everyone had more than one task to perform before dressing for the event.
With too much chatter and buzzing energy, something could go wrong. Two and a half hours suddenly did not seem like enough time.
On top of it all, it began to drizzle.
Despite everything, help showed up where it was needed and when guests began to arrive late in the morning, everything fell into place. We were ready to play our roles, the results of our inner work manifesting through us.
*Excerpted and adapted from, The Work at Play chapter of Real People, by Roberta Chromey