Empowerment Through Books
During one of the workshops a participant, whom I’ll call Bonnie, said she could present just fine if she was seated among a group but she was absolutely terrified of standing in front of the group because she felt like she was towering over people. I suspected that Bonnie had an emotional wound that needed healing so I asked, “Who told you that you were too tall when you were a little girl?” The dam broke. Bonnie never realized how the criticism of her height caused her to fear standing up to speak in front of a group. Once she identified the fear, she was able to start the work to heal that wound. Today, I’m delighted that she proudly stands tall and uses her big girl voice even though it doesn’t come naturally, yet.
That’s the challenge with emotional wounds we developed as little girls---the fear of the scab being ripped off lingers in our subconscious for a long time. Sometimes we think we’ve healed only to discover we still have more work to do. However, we must continue to do the work and in the process we have to use our big girl voice to calm the little girl inside. We have to reassure her constantly by telling her that her voice has significance!
Over the course of my life, I have looked to books for insight and answers. I've looked to books to escape, to learn, to grow, and to be inspired. Books, the written words and shared stories, have been my best friends and I'd like to introduce you to one of them.
Kitchen Table Wisdom (Stories That Heal)
by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.
This remarkable collection of true stories draws on the concept of "kitchen table wisdom" - the human tradition of shared experience that shows us life in all its power and mystery, and reminds us that the things we cannot measure may be the things that ultimately sustain and enrich our lives.
I love these in-and-out books ~ where you can open them at any part and find a brief 1-3 page piece about suffering, meaning, love, faith and miracles.