Begin, Belong, Become, Behold, and Bestow with Dolly Parton
Daily Nourishment Read Time: 40 seconds
Pause/Prompt/Practice Time: 15 minutes
“Try to be the person that touches the sky. And don’t let somebody tell you you can’t do it… If you fail at first, just keep on trying. Because you’re not a failure in God’s eyes. So just stand back and let the magic happen.” - Dolly Parton
Pause.
Take deep breaths with a six-count inhale and a six-count exhale while listening to a song by Dolly Parton.
Prompt.
Begin: “I remember when I was working on my first film about the Brooklyn Bridge in In 1977 or 78, I walked out into City Hall Park to go get some lunch and heard this unbelievable song blaring from the steps of City Hall. And I pulled somebody aside, and I said, who is this? I'd never done that before. And it was her singing live, getting the keys to the city. ‘Here You Come Again’ was her big, big, big crossover hit. And it just knocked me over.”
-Ken Burns, on the beginning of his relationship and awareness of Dolly Paron
Belong: Those old songs over from the Old World, those old Irish, English, Scottish, Welch ballads. She told a great story and it was all believable, so just watching mom was like watching TV. Hearing her sing and tell all these stories.
-Dolly Parton on how the songs her mom sang helped her belong to herself, her family, and the power of stories.
Become: “She's authentic. She's impressive. She's smart. She's generous. She's formidable. She's tough.”
-Ken Burns on who Dolly became and who she is to so much of us.
Behold: I love that Dolly Parton was so tied to her family, her people, her places. That she beheld the landscapes and realities of her roots and East Tennessee and Sevier County, and all of that beholding and honoring of the people and places from which she came helped form her and her music. And this quote below from Burns brings together belonging, becoming, beholding, and bestowing all at once, which is wonderful:
“I mean, that's a—it's almost a pun, Sevier County. Her birth is so—we can't imagine someone born in 1946 would have experienced the kind of poverty. Her father paid the doctor who delivered her with a sack of cornmeal. This is where she came from, and for her to return to the songs that her mother sang, the ideas that bound us together.”
-Ken Burns on how her childhood and place helped make her who she was.
Bestow: “He was going to sue me, he was going to do this, he's going to do that. And so I went home, I thought, he's not going to listen to me because I've said it over and over. And so I thought, do what you do best. Just write a song. So I wrote the song, took it back in the next day and I said, Porter, sit down, I got something I have to sing to you. So I sang it and he was sitting at his desk and he was crying. He said, that's the best thing he ever wrote. Okay, you can go, but only if I can produce that record. And he did, and the rest is history.”
-Dolly Parton on her best-selling song, “I Will Always Love You,” that she bestowed on this world and so many people who love her and her music.
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All of the quotes above are pulled from this August 25, 2026 interview with Ken Burns.
Practice.
Take 10 or more minutes to think about your relationship with Dolly Parton and her music (or another musician and their music) in light of the framework below that helps us notice connections between creativity and the soul:
Begin: What’s your earliest memory of Dolly Parton and her music?
Belong: How does Dolly Parton and her music help you belong to yourself, others, your places, and the divine?
Become: How do Dolly and her music make you want to be more of your full self?
Behold: What are your favorite Dolly-related songs and stories?
Bestow: How has Dolly bestowed good things on you? How does she help you bestow good things on yourself and others?
Want More?
Read Spiritual Direction for Writers: Everyday Rituals for Your Writing Life to learn more about the frameworks I’ve developed to explore creativity and the soul.
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Flourish Anyway with Rhythms, Rituals, & Retreats
Today’s Daily Nourishment was provided by Charlotte Donlon.
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