Heart Tales is a monthly newsletter for people on an adventure toward wholeness. It is published by Jim Cyr, storyteller, author, and crisis intervention specialist.

From Jewish Dharma by Brenda Shoshanna

A Zen Master was called to his brother’s home. His nephew kept getting into trouble, and it seemed nothing could be done. Whatever they tried made matters worse. The nephew was drinking, carousing, sleeping all day, and refusing to go to school. The Zen Master’s brother begged him to come and do something to help. Finally, the Zen Master agreed to visit for a week.

Everyone was excited and hopeful when the Zen Master arrived, waiting to see how he would handle the wayward boy. When the Zen Master arrived, he unpacked his few belongings and chatted with his nephew casually about this and that. At night when the boy went to the bars, the Zen Master simply went along. Although the boy waited to be reprimanded, the Zen Master did not comment or offer advice.

In this manner, he accompanied his nephew all week long wherever he went and whatever he chose to do. On the last day of the Zen Master’s visit the boy became uneasy and waited for the scolding he expected. It never came. The Zen Master did nothing out of the ordinary, just spent time with him keeping him company.

After they returned home, the Zen Master went into his room to pack. Unnerved, the boy joined him as he prepared to leave. Packed and ready to go, the Zen Master bent down to tie his shoelace, and as he did so, one single tear fell all by itself. The boy saw the tear and was deeply touched and shaken. After the Zen Master left, the boy could not return to his old ways.

I invite you to send me your thoughts about “A Single Tear.” You can email me at jim@hearttales.net

Book

My book, The Cracked Pot: Finding Grace in the Cracks of Childhood Abuse, is available at Amazon.com.

“This is one man’s true story of the unspeakable things that were done to him as a child and his rocky journey through adulthood to find God, peace AND his true self. “

Blog

If you enjoy this newsletter, check out The Heart Tales Blog at http://hearttales.net/blog. The blog is published every Monday and Thursday and contains a story with a brief reflection.

Telecast

If you missed the telecast of my interview with Diane Eble you can hear the replay at http://www.askjimcyr.com/replay.php

The true spirit of my work is to lead people on a life-changing adventure toward wholeness by connecting their hearts to their true selves, to others, and to God, through stories of healing, wisdom, and faith. My life-changing adventure toward wholeness includes performances of folk and fairy tales, sacred stories, and personal stories, and workshops on how to tell stories in therapeutic settings.

“Jim’s storytelling spoke to many of the problems our women face on the road to recovery from addiction and gave them options for handling those problems they had not considered before.”
Helen Raytek, Program Director, Crawford House

“Jim, I want to thank you for your time, efforts, and talents in presenting your Clinical Benefits of Storytelling Workshop. I was very impressed with your professional and fun deliverance of the material and many useful resources and examples. I felt I benefited from it both personally and professionally, and will use what I learned…”
John J. D. Schweska, L.P.C. Assistant Program Director, Mobile Response and Stabilization Services, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen

“…your newsletter is a wonderful resource, and I hope that many will subscribe to it.”
Dr. Robert Bela Wilhelm, Storyfest Ministry

“…Thank you once again, Jim, for sharing your stories/your story and influencing my healing.”
Eileen