Onward The Journey

Dearest Goddesses,

I´ve been hiding – camped out in my hermit crab shell. And after some loving prodding from my external GPS (thank you, thank you, thank you) I am emerging. Onward the Journey.

So, a brief update to my ladies – I´m 11 weeks pregnant which is very exciting and nerve-racking and scary and… I was also laid off – and while I am grateful that I am no longer working where I was working, it´s never good to the self-esteem to be on the receiving end of a pink slip or have to start from scratch on the job search. But…onward the journey.

I suppose I´ve also been confronted by the next Goddess in the series – The Erinyes which represent Crisis. Jeez, I didn´t need any more crisis on my hands and I certainly didn´t want to create any crises for any of you! But I don´t think I'm that powerful. Truth is, crisis will show up when it shows up how it shows up – why not have the tools to deal with it. I suppose since I made the decision to be confronted with The Erinyes, I have been going through my own crisis of sorts – a redefinition of who I am in light of the changes in my world these days. Sometimes I feel so far away from that Patty who was facilitating creativity groups, teaching and learning and being creative. And I suppose there are some aspects of that Patty that I don´t miss – but I´m looking to reclaim that creative spirit and that passion. I feel like it´s been a long time since I´ve allowed myself to be passionate. Which leads me to what I want to share today.

Last week I had the distinct privilege to be invited to a group put on by Atlanta Woman Magazine called "Empowering Yourself". It really was perfect. The keynote speaker was Brigadier General Anne F. Macdonald who was a part of the first class of women to graduate from West Point in 1980. She shared her experience, which she called the most difficult period of her life, but how going through that experience really paved the way to the incredible leader that she is today. (She didn´t underestimate the power of hindsight in her ability to make these realizations. At the moment of her graduation, she walked out of there ready to never look back.)

She described that time of her life as her spiritual desert, but wanted to emphasize three points of leadership that the experience taught her:

1. It is up to you to give yourself permission to succeed. No one else will grant you that permission and you may encounter people who do not always have your best interest at heart, not to mention the fact that the biggest obstacle that you will probably face on your journey to success is your own self standing in your way. GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION.
   
2. Allow yourself to adapt in order to achieve success. The world may not look exactly how you´d like it to look, so it is up to you to adapt in order to succeed. She said that when she got to West Point the circumstances were NOT set up to ensure her success. It´s not always going to look the way you want it to look.
   
3. Fail Forward. There will be failures in your attempts at success. If you learn from those mistakes, you make sure that you fail forward and not backward.
   

 

She shared so much more that I will share with you in the next few posts.

Thanks for listening, it really feels good to be sharing again!

Love to you,

Patty