Looking for Love: Shanta Lee

We wrap up this series of love stories with two thoughtful tales from Shanta Lee that remind us to look first to ourselves when looking for love. 

Happy Valentine's Day, my friends!

What If Everyone Believed They Were Enough:  A Love Story with the Self

By Shanta Lee

Once upon a time,

every little boy and girl was told that they were enough at the start of their day

and as a reminder as they were tucked into their beds

In this particular world,

no one was told to tinker upon themselves or "become" in order to get their friendships,

partnerships,

loveships

Individuals were not encouraged to go find

& affix mismatched pieces in order to appear whole

Polish was never applied

nor any buffing ever took place to cover up the tarnished

or dull parts

And bandages were not encouraged to be applied in order to cover and hide the wounds,

holes,

or scar tissue

Instead here,

everyone who came together did so because

they wanted each soul as their

beautifully-broken-battered-missing-piece-unpolished selves

Here,

no one needed any fixing in order to gain acceptance or love

Here,  everyone just was…

enough

*Short story inspired by a conversation & a dedication for all

who don't believe that they are enough.*

***************************************

PIECE #2:  We Told Each Other Love Stories

"My female friends and I share love stories with each other often in the middle of the night. It is not the stuff you'd ever read in a storybook, but better. In many ways, it feels like we are handing each other the hope that has been broken, battered and tattered along the way.  Through each of the visions painted with these words that tell of the exploits of the love warriors, passion marauders, and all other classes of badasses we are telling each other not to give up. Stitching together what seemed to be lost along the way while handing each other the vision that one day, we too will share a story....and this time it will be our own."

This story in particular that I was listening to was told by my friend in Malaysia.    While she and I are separated by just over 9,000 miles (according to google maps it is 9,358 miles to be exact), we were talking about the love/relationship challenges that plagued both of us.   That night, we giggled often with the candor of school girls in between describing the attributes of our ideal "he" that had yet to darken our doorsteps.  I am not sure at what point it happened, but my giggling came to a halt as I started to listen to a story she wanted to share.  Leading up to the start of the story,  we gazed at each other through our computer screens with the help of skype.  Somehow I knew that what she had to share was important as a serious look came across her face while intent invaded her voice.  This particular story was about a man who loved a woman so much that he walked several miles to prove it.

"Shanta, I want to tell you about my friend.  She was a beautiful older woman and she had a lover.  Another man was also interested in her and he decided to become engaged with her knowing of her circumstances.  For whatever reason there was a fight or disagreement that took place between her and her newer lover.  The man did not have any money to go see his love, so he decided to walk.  He walked 25 miles to get to her doorstep.  He could have asked her to send a cab but he was intent on walking.  By time he arrived, it was the middle of the night so she was surprised to get a knock at her door.  When she opened it, she was surprised to see him.  After he expressed that he had to see her and loved her, both of them collapsed into tears at the sight of each other.  The remainder of the night, she helped to tend to the blisters upon his feet."

Both of us excitedly stated that we wanted that man....the man who would walk 25 miles for us.  And while it is quite possible that I am missing some key pieces of this story the importance is in the overall message and the fact that it actually happened as opposed to the detail.  Love may indeed have blisters upon its feet and tears.  Love perhaps is that painful journey, yet one to be proudly made as it finds its way no matter way to the intended doorstep no matter what.  It was this story that inspired the quote I crafted at the beginning of this entry.  It is her story, and many of the other stories that my friends have shared that waters the hope that a love between two people can be so deep that it would make an ocean jealous.

But it isn't about going to hunt that type of love down.  Maybe it is allowing yourself to open the door to let it in even when it has been bruised in trying to get to you. 

“Can you remember who you were before the world told you who you should be?" Unknown

Warmly,

Shanta L.Evans-Crowley, MBA

About Shanta:
Shanta Lee is an artist and multi-faceted professional in areas of marketing, management, event planning, and other areas. As an artist, her endeavors include bellydance, writing prose/poetry/articles, and photography. Shanta’s current projects includes a photography collaboration, Perfect Imperfection (storieswetellphotography.com), with photographer Liz LaVorgna (www.lizlavorgna.com).

Phone:  (802) 275-8152     Email:  Shantavns@gmail.com

Arts Council of Windham County President
Multifaceted Professional/Writer/Photographer/Dancer 
View Bio: Shanta Lee
Social Media: Shanta on LinkedIn / Facebook / Instagram

Areas of Expertise: Leadership/Management*Media, Publicity, PR*Event Planning*
Strategic Planning*Community Partnerships*Creating & Implementing Vision

Websites & Projects:

Ponder This Radio Segments: SoundCloud
*All originally aired on Green Mountain Mornings with Chris Lenois.*

Wildly Creative:  About Wildly Creative, The Imaginarium-Creatives Around the Globe
Photography: Stories We Tell Photography, Muse of the Moment
Brattleboro Reformer Blog Contributor
Perfect Imperfection:  About the Project, The Beauty of Imperfection