Yesterday as I listened to Oprah speak of how her Audience over the years allowed and cheered her to be her authentic self, it also enabled her to inspire us to be more ourselves. As she opened up and shared her life with us, we also opened up and shared ours.
There is this open swinging space that if you stand in your truth, those around you will do the same…and it works the opposite too, if you hide, they hide.
She spoke of how she learned from sexual abusers about the grooming process and how they lure you into trusting them…and she realized, “It wasn’t my fault.”
This wisdom she passed on. Her one regret was that she wasn’t able to shine a big enough light upon sexual abuse, but that she did what she could over the years.
I am thinking we can each take on this task.
On a much smaller scale the blogs are doing the same…we are trying to shine a light of truth upon an issue that has affected our lives deeply and we know is still going on.
Just like her, we are using our voices the best way we can.
We are sharing our truths, our pain, our abuse, and we are sharing what we discovered, what we learned and how we see things.
As more blogs come forth and more people begin the dialogue, change will happen. Minds will open; questions will be asked…the tides will turn.
We will go from hiding skeletons to displaying our family wounds in order to heal. Hiding isn’t healing.
The difference it has made to have one other family come out and share their truths is huge. Its impact will be felt far and wide…the ripple affects will reach places we can’t even begin to imagine.
To not be the only family speaking out…means we are not alone.
I know the cost of speaking your truth and I know its rewards…and more importantly, I know the cost of silence.
Martha Beck writes about Heroes and Fear in Oprah’s Magazine this month.
“Heroes aren’t free from fear; they’re just so focused on a worthy goal that they feel they can’t turn back. Most of humankind’s great achievements – the sorts of things that make us say, “Oh, Wow!” – were accomplished by people who were muttering, “OH Shit!” Heroes don’t feel special, just dogged. They walk their scary paths with shaky knees and trembling hands. One shaky step at a time.”
Jim is a Hero!
Carl is a Hero!
Judy and Erin…Heroines!
Here is another part of her fear article that I like.
“When you shoot,” my friend Jim, a hockey player, once told me, “you never want to look at the goalie. Look at the space around him. Where your eyes go, the puck goes.” A white water kayaker warned me, “Look at the water, not the rocks. Where your eyes go, the boat goes.” My riding instructor shouted, “Look where you want to go, not where you don’t. Where the eyes go, the horse goes.”
“Got it? Where your attention goes, our lives go. As you take each step, be peripherally aware of the dangers, but glue your attention to the path between them.”
I love Martha’s wisdom.
My eyes are on healing…
I M Perfect lady 