Into Me, then us
Last year I met two most fantastic people who founded Challenge Day: Yvonne and Rich Dutra St John. We met during the Be The Change program. This weekend I attended part II called Living The Change. And what an awesome journey it was. We played big, got real, danced, laughed, cried, forgave and gave validations to one another.
If you really knew me…
Talking about our real feelings though, about what keeps us busy, our darkest thoughts and treasured dreams is not something we share with others in our daily lives. We stay safely above the waterline. The Be The Change program is all about sharing below the waterline. It is amazing what this brings: liberation and soul space. Yet, it is sometimes not easy to speak these words. And I noticed that other people’s misery made me realize, my life is not so bad! Besides that, it felt like cleaning up my inside and this enlightened my spirit. It is not ‘fixing it‘ like the trauma never existed but to heal (in small steps) past hurts: have I gifted myself support, do I have true friends who also drop the waterline so we have deep connections? Luckily, I have and I do!
Notice Choose Act
As most of us are opinionated about the world around us (yes, also me and also you) and others in it (how they look, what they do, etc.) the first step is to be aware of this. Verdict creates a dialogue between us that is fiction; our brains lie to us on a daily basis. We were all asked to change something in our image/clothing. I chose the hijab and got to experience how our society responds to women in a head scarf. I was ignored, frowned upon and complemented warmly by Muslim women. I felt like I gained a whole new family. We need to realize that we move from bias, only then we can actively choose how to move forward the respectful way. And then act and move towards a different future. One in which everyone gets to be accepted. We start to contribute on the betterment of our planet.
An act of Change
Yvonne challenged us to do an Act of Change every day. Of course, there is a benefit for the receiver but you also do it for you, what makes you feel good. I’ll share one I did recently. I was out on a weekend trip and driving to our hotel I saw a tent like settlement for one person and there was a dog sitting next to it. The next day we went over there. I felt a little bit nervous. We brought breakfast and coffee to a lady whose caravan had burned down and she lived on the street first and then made this tent for herself and her sweet companion dog. She was obviously well educated and once well of but now, she was sick in her head like anxiety and paranoia. Our small gift made her day, she was so grateful. It was an amazing encounter.
Would you like to join the BTC movement? What can be your Act of change of today? It may be small, it may be big, whatever your gift is, it is welcome in the world so it becomes a little bit better and lighter. Thank you for your initiative and courage.
