Recalibrating and reconnecting
I started this blog ten years ago. The main purpose was to develop and to strengthen my voice while showcasing my thought leadership as a professional and entrepreneur. It was a project I embraced wholeheartedly as I love to write.
Since childhood I have always felt most comfortable writing. Having been teased and bullied for a great part of my school life, I felt somewhat protected when I wrote. I had the choice to express what I was thinking and feeling without any outside judgment. Writing was my refuge.
The creation of a blog became my commitment to show up. It was a great act of courage for someone who had grown up constantly hearing put downs and criticism.
I dove into the technical aspects of blogging. That was the easy part. Developing and strengthening my voice became trickier–and more challenging–than I expected.
What started as an exercise to polish the flow of my sentences evolved into a battle with myself. Every post, article, and opinion challenged me to share how I really saw things because of who I had been and who I was becoming. I had a choice: to write posts that mainly inform or to write my perspective on what I was informing. Over time I realized that neither approach was wrong.
Through the years, this blog has become my sounding board, my partner in courage when I want to process a thought or action. This blog has been witness to my own evolution as a woman, leader, mom, and entrepreneur.
And then something happened in 2012: I couldn’t write.
Treyvon Martin was shot by George Zimmerman.
Fast forward to 2016 to the hundreds if not thousands of killings and racial profiling incidents that have taken place. I became numb. There were too many feelings to process and to express. I attempted to plow through the pain and anger managing to write a few posts here and there.
When I thought I could come up for air, the U.S. Presidential election started to unfold. Was I ready and willing to watch the Republican and Democrat national conventions? I did with trepidation.
That is when I heard, “When they go low, we go high.”
And although I understood the concept intellectually, I struggled with identifying specific actions to go high on. My first inclination was either to curse or to punch someone in the face–metaphorically speaking, that is.
My coaching experience came in handy. As a Martha Beck coach, I know the importance of paying attention to what I feel. Stillness was the way to get there. Boy, was it hard to do. It still is at times. Thank God for self coaching!
That is when I came across a quote Adrienne Maree Brown posted on Instagram:
“things are not getting worse, they are getting uncovered. we must hold each other tight and continue to pull back the veil.”
Coming back to this blog is my way to recalibrate my feelings and actions despite of what happens around us. I keep on holding myself tight with compassion and patience while going forward one step at a time. I can then provide a safe and supportive space for my family, friends, and clients.
Let’s continue to pull back the veil… together.
