The Beauty We Love
I was honored and blessed to be invited to participate in a writers’ Circle of Trust this fall and winter - exploring my own journey. Sally and Megan, as facilitators and editors, helped guide us gently through the landscape of our own story. When I write I share my story from the inside out! In my vulnerability I have found that many of us share a similar heartbreak and joy as we travel this world in all of our humanity. I am blessed to have had parents who always told me I could do anything I worked hard to achieve - and I am doubly blessed that they still cheer me on! A walk in the woods or a look out the window often inspires my work. In this effort I was inspired by the work of Parker Palmer, and the process I learned in Circles of Trust, as I work each day to live undivided. It took all my courage to share my story, in Let the Beauty We Love Be What We Do: Stories of Living Divided No More. I am thankful for the gentle holding of Megan and Sally as I shared my story about my journey inward that was both challenging and life-giving! I titled it, Not There Yet: The Journey to an Undivided Life.
Here is a brief excerpt:
I looked in the mirror as I was talking to my sister on the phone. I told her that I was heading to a concert at a place where I thought I could be myself, a gay woman, and maybe even meet someone. She asked if I could try, just one more time, to meet a guy. I remember laughing, and with a resounding NO, I recounted my failures when I had tried to please others. I smiled as walked out the door. I had spoken my truth.Looking back, I guess what happened was what I now would call an inner knowing. I never imagined that a Carrie Newcomer concert, at Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center, on a cold November night would be such a significant entrance to my journey toward an undivided life.
The night before, I had been sitting at the computer in my living room, alone again on a Friday night, reading and re-reading the invitation from the director of Kirkridge to hear Carrie Newcomer. I had never heard of Carrie, so I downloaded an album from iTunes. Not bad, I thought.....
I invite you to share my story and my work. As an educator I hope that each person can come to school each day and be safe, both physically and emotionally. I have facilitated conversations and worked with groups both large and small. My work in the area of non-discrimination, equity and education is adaptable for families, parents, schools and other groups as we all struggle to welcome the "other". You can buy our book online - click here.
I looked in the mirror as I was talking to my sister on the phone. I told her that I was heading to a concert at a place where I thought I could be myself, a gay woman, and maybe even meet someone. She asked if I could try, just one more time, to meet a guy. I remember laughing, and with a resounding NO, I recounted my failures when I had tried to please others. I smiled as walked out the door. I had spoken my truth.Looking back, I guess what happened was what I now would call an inner knowing. I never imagined that a Carrie Newcomer concert, at Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center, on a cold November night would be such a significant entrance to my journey toward an undivided life.
The night before, I had been sitting at the computer in my living room, alone again on a Friday night, reading and re-reading the invitation from the director of Kirkridge to hear Carrie Newcomer. I had never heard of Carrie, so I downloaded an album from iTunes. Not bad, I thought.....
I invite you to share my story and my work. As an educator I hope that each person can come to school each day and be safe, both physically and emotionally. I have facilitated conversations and worked with groups both large and small. My work in the area of non-discrimination, equity and education is adaptable for families, parents, schools and other groups as we all struggle to welcome the "other". You can buy our book online - click here.
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