A Raucous Holy Fool’s Day to One and All!
Holy Fool’s Day
April 1 is the day to find your voice, speak your truth, and shake things up. Forget the pranks and silly antics of April Fool’s Day. Become a Holy Fool!
Each year I remind you that this is your day to speak out. Here is last year’s post to inspire ideas for the outer expression of your inner Holy Fool.
Comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell talked about the archetype of the Holy Fool. The Fool is the most dangerous person on earth, Campbell explained, the most threatening to all hierarchical institutions. He has no concern for naysayers, and no one has power over him (or her). She is not limited, not stoppable, nor controllable. She knows what she has to do and is doing it, no matter what. Continue reading
Responsibility for Your Impact
What Happens When Women Wake Up?
Years ago in my intensive studies with cultural anthropologist Angeles Arrien, she spoke of “responsibility for our impact.” That teaching has stayed with me as I’ve observed how easy is it for others to perceive us in ways that can be contrary to how we see ourselves. Being responsible for our impact requires that we remain vigilant to the expectations we create. For example, when we are given the speaking platform, the invitation confers a level of authority that gives our words great power. And on a personal level, when engaged in a glorious “what if . . . ?” co-creative surge that comes and goes like a hot flash, others may be making plans while we are moving on.
It is time to recognize the power we hold. It is time to clear those sabotaging voices that tell us we’re not enough. We would be wise to heed the advice quoted by a recent client: “Don’t compare your insides with everybody else’s outsides.” Continue reading
Has Your Message Chosen You?
Sense of Wonder
This week I saw the inspiring film A Sense of Wonder made from interviews with Rachel Carson in the final year of her life, in 1964. As the government marine biologist spoke of the critical acclaim she received for her book Silent Spring, she said, “In some ways, the subject chooses the writer.”
Carson had made a seven-month commitment to write a book for which she received a publishing advance from Houghton Mifflin in 1958. It became the culmination of her life’s work when, two and a half years into her research, she realized she was just scratching the surface. When Silent Spring was published in 1962, the critics in the chemical industry were louder than the initial acclaim. (She noted there were few dissidents but they had a lot of money.) Her book catalyzed investigation into the destruction of life that comes from synthetic pesticides and catapulted environmental concerns to the forefront of public discourse, where they have remained ever since. Continue reading
Join our Mailing List in Box Below
