Resilience- the ability to bounce back from a negative experience
On our Life Journey, it is important to stop periodically along the way to breathe and take in the scenery, significance of it and our humble accomplishments. It has taken a long time for me to find my place in the world. Sometimes being brought to our knees by circumstance, grants us the chance to test our resiliency and gives us the setting in which to rise again.
It is this emotional tsunami and upheaval, this personal tragedy, that has allowed an Awakening and Rebirth for me. Like the scorched and barren landscape that sprouts new life after total loss and devastation by fire, there is hope of new growth and Life. I take this humble moment to look back at the well-worn, road behind me and breathe in the appreciation of where I stand today on my Journey back Home.
I am taking more time to meditate, sing, dance, paint, hike, create and write to renew my passionate, energetic body in preparation for my sharing of personal experiences at the upcoming ACISTE 2018 Conference in Chicago this October. (www.aciste.org) And in the words of David Byrne “well, how did I get here…?”
One can say many things about Social Media these days, but I like to celebrate the amazing personal friendships and relationships with people, (some of whom I have never met in person, still) that I consider to be my Tribe. It is because of these Tribe members that I have been asked to share at ACISTE. Allow me to connect the digital dots.
I joined Shades of Awakening (www.shadesofawakening) which was originally started by Dabney Alix (www.dabneyalix.com) approximately seven? years ago. I was living in the San Francisco Bay Area at the time and had met her at a Reiki Group that I was attending in Lafayette, California. I met Katie Mottram at “Shades” (and many others) who would go on to make the Emerging Proud film. (www.emergingproud/film) At first, I was terrified when Katie asked me to share my story and experiences. I am grateful to her for the opportunity now and glad that I did. The film was being screened at an event in New York City, by Katrina Michelle of The Curious Spirit. (www.thecuriousspirit.org) Katrina asked me to speak at the presentation and share my story, which I gratefully obliged, in spite of my anxiety and fears. I later learned that Katrina Michelle and another individual were putting together a group of individuals to work on a twelve-step group for Spiritual Emergence Anonymous. Having spent many years in twelve step programs for substance abuse and the positive changes that it brought to my life, I felt an attraction to the project ( www.spiritualemergenceanonymous.org) I interviewed and was accepted and have worked on setting up the organization along with two other Spiritual Emergers. When one of the members proposed their presentation for the ACISTE 2018 Conference and it was accepted, I was asked to come and share my experiences.
This has all been such a natural unfolding and progression of events. Life speeds by us so quickly, that we don’t always have the time to acknowledge and celebrate how we got to where we are, (unless we are nominated for an Oscar of course) So Thank You to everyone that I have encountered along the way that have helped to heal, encourage and propel me forward. I am looking forward to meeting more new Tribe members and sharing our pains and celebrations at ACISTE Chicago 2018.
TClare 09/2018 www.tclare.com