I am many different things. I am the little girl that loved to play with ducks and geese. I am the teen that did not know how to hold the pain of the world she was in. I am the young adult desperate to be loved and accepted. I am the black-out-drunk party girl. I am the minister that officiated your ceremony. I am your Reiki teacher. I am the leader of your women’s circle. I am Indigenous. I am White. I am your bereavement counselor. I am the voice of your food co-op. I am your Compassionate Communication facilitator. I am a leader in your Tribe. I am your friend. I am your mother. I am your wife. I am your sister. I am.
And yet, all of these things, are little fragments of me. Some larger than others but strung together they only scratch the surface. I wield faith and hope as my swords in a world I find to be breathtakingly beautiful and utterly devastating. I am replacing my armor with vulnerability. My shield is forged of authenticity and truth, sometimes to the point I can no longer lift it. I have an undying hope for humanity. It tends to waivers on a large scale but I believe in each and every person. I have not given up on the whole.
I am a seeker. A learner. A teacher. A leader. I am both whole and shattered. I am fluid. Where I am today, will not be where I end tomorrow. What was once holy to me, may no longer serve me today. These are givens.
I have a deep need to align myself with purpose. At 43 I viscerally feel that I have been handed a baton by my elders. My time is now. My ancestors are both cheering me on and urging me. The problem is, I don’t know exactly what my leg of the relay looks like? I don’t always know how to hear what they have to say. I just know it is time to start running.
What have I learned in the last four decades, the last four lifetimes, that can clue me in to what is mine to do? I know that fostering hope and guiding those whose voices have become silenced is the essence of what I am here to do. I know that begins with me. Beyond that, I will be here running towards an unknown destination that shows me what is around the next corner.
Thank you for joining me. I’d love to hear about your journey and what is yours to do. I will leave you with a song that has become my personal anthem. Thank you May Erlewine for the light you bring into the world with your voice, you are balm to my spirit!