Your WHO and Your DO
Some shows are just more personal than others, and this was one of them. In fact, I was crying through parts of the interview this morning, as were my guests. I am so grateful to be part of this community of women who share–their stories, their hearts, their lives. The stories aren’t always joyous. They can be dark and painful. Regardless, they are always so meaningful for me. Because these stories help to make up the mirror in which I see myself.
In the mirror today I saw a woman who seems shallow. A woman who is surrounded by comfort and opportunity. Juxtaposed against the very real and enduring suffering of the people in Haiti, even in the best of times, much less now, in the worst. This morning’s interview could have served as an invitation to beat myself up for not doing as much as someone else or just an unidentified quantity of “DOING MORE.” A better use for that mirror is to check on my alignment. First, I want to make sure that my “WHO” matches my “DO” (as an old Virginia woman once said to me). And then, I want to explore whether the circumstances of my life have changed to the degree where I may want to be doing something differently.
This sense of being in alignment was captured perfectly in Sarah and Anna’s feelings at the moment that they thought they were going to die–they knew that this was absolutely where they needed to be, doing what they needed to do. And Anna’s statement in the face of this overwhelming tragedy of ” I can’t fix it, but I love you” [and I would add, "And I'm here"] is something each of us could practice saying when we confront our tragedies, large or small.
April 24th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
thank you jennifer for inviting sarah and anna to share their story. we all have portals in which to walk through to serve, none of us are in the position where we can do nothing for someone else. thank you for opening your heart to their story and to the Haitians….. namaste