Mission #99: The Reckoning of the Beckoning

by Amy Krouse Rosenthal | Nov. 14, 2011

Well, here we are, on the other side of 11/11/11.

Thank you again, so very much, to everyone who came out to the Bean on Friday. And thank you to those you who traveled far and wide! More on the event in a moment.

I'd like to begin by sharing The Beckoning of Lovely feature-length film in its entirety. As you know, it was officially released on 11/11/11. As you may not know, it's 65 minutes long and is comprised of five parts or "movements."

One quick aside: due to some unforeseen technical issues, we had to completely re-upload the film this morning. So if you happened to already view the film, and you posted comments, responded to the interactive prompts in the film, etc, I hope you will take a moment to re-post them. I've included the original video links at the bottom of this post, so you can just copy and paste your comments, should you so desire.

I hope you enjoy the show...

And now, about the 11/11/11 We Are All One gathering at the Bean!

I know that acoustics were less than ideal; try as we might, we have not been able to perfect this element. We had announced at the beginning of the event that because of anticipated acoustical issues, we actually went ahead and posted the entire script online so you could follow along. Ironically, not even THIS message was heard by all! Sigh. So, a day late and dollar short:

* Here is the script of everything that was said/done so you can at least connect the dots! *

When you read this, you'll see that a couple Mission Amy KR readers played a significant role in the day. Thank you again to Trinity Muller of Minneapolis for your wonderful Red Scarf Project idea and kicking it off, or rather, casting off, right there at the Bean. And thank you again to Rachael Crowe of Ann Arbor for sharing your incredibly moving and personal story about what the words "Make The Most of Your Time Here" mean to you. Thank you to Alec Snodgrass of Ohio for a wedding proposal that none of us will ever forget. (And congratulations!) Thank you, Liz Song of Los Angeles, for wearing a yellow jacket. Thank you to the kids who helped hold the megaphones.

Lots more to say but I'll wait til next week...

THIS WEEK'S MISSION: I would like to do a post next week sharing all your experiences of the day. I've started to hear from some of you about various serendipitous occurrences and connections, so now I invite all of you to share what you'd like in the comment section. If it feels private, you can email me at missamykr at yahoo dot com.

Stay tuned then for a more complete synopsis of the 11/11/11 gathering.

In the meantime, I remain...

ever yours,

amy p.s. As I think you know, the entire 11/11/11 Bean gathering was indeed filmed, so in about a month's time we'll be sharing the edited video here.

ORIGINAL VERSION OF FIRST MOVEMENT

ORIGINAL VERSION OF SECOND MOVEMENT

ORIGINAL VERSION OF THIRD MOVEMENT

ORIGINAL VERSION OF FOURTH MOVEMENT

ORIGINAL VERSION OF FIFTH MOVEMENT

Comments

April wrote:

My daughter and I attended The Beckoning of Lovely on 11/11/11. My daughter is a senior in high school this year. We decided last year, after stumbling onto your YouTube videos that we had to attend the next meeting. We began planning a trip for just the two of us. This was time for us to make a memory together, to cultivate a strong emotion, to stir inside of us a yearning to do something awesome. And the event did not disappoint. Thank you for helping me show my daughter and so many others out there, that one person can do something lovely with one small task. I think the one thing we took from this is that even a small task, like singing happy birthday to a stranger, can warm someone’s heart. Do enough small tasks and warm enough hearts and you’ve just changed a small part of the world. She took to heart your challenge to others to continue the movement in their own way. She is now planning and dreaming big. Thank you!

Tue Nov 15 2011, 9:51 AM

Abbie G wrote:

For me, the best thing about 11/11/11 was the morning wish. My english teacher put an atomic clock up on the computer, and we all wished together. I thought there was something incredibly special about making wishes with my peers. Most of them don't know about the Beckoning of Lovely, and a lot of them I'm not friends with, but we all really, really wanted our wishes to come true that day. I could hear everyone exhale as the clock changed from 11:11 to 11:12, and I found myself thinking that I hoped *all* of our wishes got to come true.

(It was also just an all-around great day. I felt a lot of love towards the people around me and I had a lot of fun.)

Tue Nov 15 2011, 1:20 PM

Mission Amy KR

Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a person who likes to make things. She is a New York Times bestselling author of both adult and children's books. Her memoir Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life was named a top 10 memoir of the decade. She is also the creator of The Beckoning of Lovely film project, A TED conference speaker and long-time contributor to WBEZ, Mission Amy KR was created as a way for readers to connect, reflect, have fun, & change the world without necessarily getting dressed.