kells

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One of Eli's favorite movies is the Secret of Kells (available on Netflix.) It's a beautiful animation about Brendan, a boy growing up at Kells Abbey; how the "Northmen" drove Brother Aidan from Iona to Kells; and how that helped Brendan discover his own gifts as an illuminator. Brendan is his the nephew of the Abbot, and eventually he has to break his uncle's strict orders not to go into the forest.

For Eli the story doesn't stay in the in the movie. We often play Kells during daily life. Any berry on a bush can become THE berries Brendan was seeking to make ink, and I often become Br. Aidan helping him along. On our recent trip to the Bishop Jones Center we found the perfect setting for the story to come to life. It was complete with huge oak trees for Brendan to scramble around on, and old bridges-over-creeks to explore. There it was, the forest all around the abbey; fortunately we never ran into any Northmen.

Just seeing him bring a story to life like that is a lesson for me. It is a reminder not only of the gift of stories, and the way they can help us understand our own lives, but of the importance of sharing stories, good ones, with others. I look forward to ever more stories coming to life in his own life.


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