Yesterday morning I received an email.
My friend wanted immediate attention.
"I cannot stay silent any longer."
She had just written a draft of her first Op Ed for the New York Times.
"I’ve never done this before, I’ve never been this moved to do this."
It flowed out of her, she said, after getting a text on Jan. 28th that Gender Affirming Care was under threat by that morning's Trump Executive Order.
This friend’s 14-year-old son is transgender.
Because I believe this letter will get into the NYT, I will share it with you when it is published.
But for now I want to celebrate the paths that lead us to the kind of extraordinary movement we dream about taking.
This woman is one of my most dear and trusted friends for over thirty years.
A few years ago she joined a course I was running to query a book about her experience of with the healthcare system during consecutive traumatic surgeries on her own body.
That book took a back-seat to tend to the immediate crisis in front of her - securing the mental health and physical safety of her then pre-teen son.
With her own health stabilized and her son finally receiving the most supportive GAC available in California, she had a brief reprieve for a few precious weeks.
Then that text.
Her response was instant.
No fear. No hesitation about pressing “send."
No resistance to being seen, or judged or failing.
Trump's Executive Order touched the truth that she is "powerful beyond measure" and her old fears about her worthiness as a writer were shattered.
Her first action after writing the draft?
To get support from her most trusted allies.
And now?
Emboldened by love, she walked through a door of possibility that wasn't open before.
Just. Like. That.
To my artist and creators who feel stuck, frustrated, confused and afraid;
To my artists and creators who want certainty;
To my artists and creators who want to know the destination of arrival;
I see you!
The time will come when you will be so moved.
When nothing will hold you back from showing up for what matters most to you.
Our only task is to celebrate the crumbs that lead us back to truth in our hearts every day.
Through the dark. How brave I am!
Through the storms. How brave I am!
Through the terror. How brave I am!
Take in the light when it shines through, let it warm you.
The path is what matters here.
Every single small step forward on your singular path deepens your commitment to what you long to create.
Trust your path.
Share your journey with people who can celebrate your courage.
Then one day, one bad-ass-courageous-no-excuses-day you will take a risk you’ve been quietly longing to take.
And there will be NO DOUBT that it is the right move now.
NO IMPENDING FEAR of judgement or of failure.
NO DESTABILIZING CONFUSION about your worthiness to step forward.
❤️🧡💛💙💚💜Stay open, stay curious, stay kind to yourselves and to others.
Naomi
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