Marilyn and Acceptance

We were sitting in small groups in English Literature I discussing
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Marilyn did not like to lecture; she was a
great believer in dialogue and communication, so most of the time in
class we were either writing or sitting in small groups discussing the
literary topic of the day. It was very evident that English literature was
her world. Her love and passion for English literature was like a heat
lamp that warms you to the bone. And she would do practically
anything to influence you with her zeal for English literature.

Since we were upperclassmen (sophomores at Massasoit), she
announced to the class that she was starting a new program called
Mainstream, which I understood to be some kind academic helping
hands program for students. She was looking for volunteers to help in
the program, and several of us raised our hands to volunteer. She
looked at me very pleased to see my hand raised and said, "Thank-you
Bill, and what would you like to do?" I was not prepared for the
question. I was volunteering to help unconditionally just to be a part of
helping. Not having a clue of how I could help, I blurted out, "I can
play guitar." One might think that at such an inappropriate response I
might have been told "That is not really what we need," or "That's not
exactly what we are looking for," or even worse a chuckle at the
awkward situation my response had created. Without hesitation,
Marilyn replied, "That's wonderful Bill. Would you come and play
guitar for us?" Quickly she turned my embarrassment into a feeling of
importance and once again elevated my stature as a human being.

Ironically, it was not Marilyn's intent to alleviate my embarrassment,
for after class, she introduced me to another student volunteer and
asked if we would be willing to team up and have the other student
volunteer read a poem while I played music in the background. When
we agreed, Marilyn was very excited because not only were we going to
engage in a very creative approach to turn students on to poetry, but
she knew that this creative approach could be a catalyst for bring
people together to create the Mainstream community.

In retrospect, a wonderful mainstream community did emerge, but it
was not the music, the poetry, or the creative approach that made us
bond. It was because of Marilyn's great penchant to unconditionally
accept, value and celebrate any positive attribute of any of God's
creations.

There is very little doubt in my mind that if I had responded to her
request for volunteers by saying "I can chop wood," we would all have
been sitting by a campfire at Plymouth Plantation discussing poetry
and the great deeds of the great Wampanoag Sachem Massasoit.
And now more than ever, do I believe in the immortality of their spirits.

Bill AuCoin