As promised we held a welcoming ceremony tonight, to offer some of the first story excerpts that were gathered from our Texas/New Mexico trip and to tell stories of the journey, of the women, of the land. Men, women and children gathered in my 900 square foot home to witness and read and ask questions...to help us 'land' from a journey that, I'm now convinced, won't ever truly be done.
It was a powerful evening. First of all, we don't usually do our Story Spirals with men. And tonight we had beautiful, strong, reverent men in the room. It worked. It is healing to provide space in which men and women can speak their truth knowing all that will happen is deep listening and respect. It is healing every time.
It was also powerful because a sampling of the beautiful wisdom that was spoken to us on our trip was unveiled and offered into the world. Only the beginning for sure. But already, within moments of the evening conclusion, I had received an email from one of the men in the circle. As he had left the gathering he had asked if he could take one of the excerpts home because he was so moved by its innate poetry. In his email he offered the story transcribed into a poem, each phrase powerfully honored by the addition of space on both ends. The title of the excerpt-turned-poem is 'The Weight of Her Burden'.
There is nothing like being witnessed by another person, nothing like being truly seen. And the process tonight was not only a chance for the women who just returned from this journey to be welcomed home, our travels to be commemorated. Far more, this evening was about honoring and witnessing what is quickly becoming a globally vibrant conversation and offering...and the power of having men as part of this journey is a long-time dream of the GCW's founding members...Thank you....
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