One Way of Telling My Story Life Sparks burned hot and steady for me as a teenager when I longed to leave behind my family’s story of emigration and a chaotic childhood with too many relocations. I got real good at being the new kid on the block with each passing school year. Fortunately, curiosity and my love of learning, coupled with physical daring and spunk, opened new doorways in my tale of becoming. I chuckle now, at how many times I reinvented myself (see, “My SE Bio”) to explore new passions in the workplace. From Nutritionist to Epidemiologist to Chaplain to Psychotherapist… a few of the sign posts I graced. Each redirect swallowing years of retraining to earn different degrees of distinction. Looking back, I marvel at the courage and audacity propelling me forwards.
A Few of My Learnings:
- No matter how far the reach, our life stories build on each chapter that came before; seeming failures enrich the tales we can tell.
- Applying new skills and knowledge works best wherever creativity and innovation thrive and different kinds of expertise are welcomed.
- Allowing ample room for life transitions creates spaciousness in the landscapes we encounter and reveals alternative life paths.
Slowing Down our Drive to Become Builds Stamina. Most important and hardest to master is the art of slowing down and accessing our unconscious intelligence while the mind scrambles to fill new roles and rulebooks. We evoke different ways of being and do our best learning when we listen to our bodies in stillness and at rest. It is the gift of coming home to ourselves, or as Mary Oliver was fond of asking, “What will you do with this one precious life?” It is this less tangible way of knowing ourselves that I believe has kept me on the move to keep life sparks bright and persistent.
How My Story Might Support Yours. I offer you this alternative way of meeting me so that my story does not supersede yours, and maybe you too, can find an alternative way of framing your story. One that is more generous in accepting flaws and missteps as essential elements along the path of your becoming. I invite you to notice the story you have been telling, and welcome you to soften the self-criticisms, possible shame, or rebuke of parents and others who did not support your longings and dreams. Let’s find the shine in your story so that you glow wherever your dreams take you.