The magic of appreciation.

I sometimes think that by now, I have reached the pinnacle of my life. I feel I have searched for wisdom that is beyond the normal. I have dedicated considerable time to discover the things that are so very important to my experience of the life that I celebrate.

Sometimes it has seemed like there was sacrifice involved, but mostly it was that I felt a bit tuckered out from time to time. Something always showed up to re-energize me and my projects.

We watch movies and talk shows, and read books, looking for life’s answers. We listen to direction after direction to ‘do what you are comfortable with’ or ‘do not do it if it doesn’t feel comfortable or right.’ So we plod along, using the measure of ‘comfortableness’ to determine the quality of life.

And then something comes along to rattle our reality and alter our view, even for a brief moment. That brief moment may be exactly what is required at the time, the thing that causes us to wake up to what is happening around us. We get a glimpse of where we can make the difference that we know we are called to, but which is still unclear to us.

Last evening I was very honored and privileged to attend a meeting of a local Women’s non-profit Foundation that has a mission to ‘build, grow and sustain a community of dynamic women.’ This organization supports women in discovering who they are in their world.

This is not a group that has a sole purpose of sitting in weekends of discovery. Those are appropriate and powerful in their place. While this is okay in order for some folks to ‘hopefully, think themselves into a new way of acting’, what I experienced last evening was a group of ladies who were ‘acting themselves into a new way of thinking’ and it was very moving to be in their presence.

That’s the key word in my experience of them….their ‘presence.’ There was an atmosphere of power in that room. I am not speaking of some kind of force, but a gentle welcoming, inclusive, and very appreciative sense of openness to partnership. While something like that experience may be difficult to put into words, it is very important that we try. For some things we need the necessary language in order to burn special experiences like this into our memories.

The interaction in that room was very inspiring as this small group of ladies enthusiastically took on their created vision of a city where women networked, supported, coached, and cared for each other so they could make a difference in their lives and the lives of their families.

There was a matter-of-factness in the room, the showing of total appreciation for any and all support.

The spirit of love was very real. You could see it in the faces of those ladies who spoke, being moved by the words that they caught themselves speaking. It was as if the words spoke themselves, catching the speakers by surprise. You could feel each soul come alive as these women recognized their own magnificence, and they graciously surrendered to living into the words they spoke.
I wanted to be a part of that energy. At least I wanted to capture some of it and bring it into my own life projects.

Sure, I wished I could have provided some magic whereby all the immediate issues on the to-do lists of these precious ladies were somehow resolved. Then they could step out beyond the confines of this city and address the issues of the rest of the world! It sure looked like the gang that could be counted on and trusted to do that.

How can I be sure of this? Well, in the charter that I saw last night, Rule #1 reads….”To have fun.”

So I am very appreciative of the recognition I received for my small contribution to the vision of these dynamic ladies. After all, we are community, and without community, how will we each make our soul’s gift available to others? You see, the soul only wants to express itself and providing the environment for that to happen is what really matters.

Last night mattered a great deal. Thank you, ladies!

Rich