THIS IS WHO I AM
Telling Our Story With Our Whole Heart + Letting Ourselves Be Seen, 3 Things Worth Sharing, Ron's World and more
If this week’s newsletter feels a bit random or disjointed, I know you’ll understand. I spent almost a week sick in bed last week (I don’t recommend it) and I am finally feeling better. Not Covid, thankfully. As I type this, I am bursting with gratitude for the gift of health and recovery. I am beginning to feel like myself again! Whew.
If you’ve been hanging around these parts for a while, you are likely picking up on some key themes and patterns in the weekly newsletter.
Allow me to pass the microphone to Brene’ Brown for a moment.
“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. “
And then there’s this one:
“Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.”
And finally:
“Tell your story with your whole heart. “
Well, that about sums up the work I’ve been called to for many years. Perhaps always. My work has taken on many shapes and forms, but really, what I’ve been doing for a long time. is learning how to tell my story with my whole heart, and help other people learn to tell and heal theirs.
I believe that one of the ways I best serve the needs of the world is through the intersection of my emotional intelligence, creativity, and the desire to help others heal through sharing stories in community. It may come as no surprise that my gifts are best expressed through collaboration and in community. The love of stable grandparents coupled with self-expression through theatre arts accelerated my healing as a teen. In the early 2000s, I created an arts program for struggling, under-resourced teens in an effort to pay some of that healing forward.
THIS IS WHO I AM is a multi-disciplinary arts program that introduced young people to collaborative arts experiences, theatre-making, and talking circles. Led by caring artists, counselors, and heart-centered volunteers, the program wove together their experiences, discoveries, and powerful truths into an original theatrical production that was performed to thunderous applause and overflowing tears and gratitude from our audiences. The young actors performed monologues, poetry, scenes, dances, songs in American Sign Language, and more. They wrote about their hopes, fears, and dreams. The let us into their lives. Their anthem was, “The me that you see is not the real me..This Is Who I Am!”
Fully funded by arts grants and contributions from local organizations, the program ran for multiple summers and partnered with family residential shelters, the juvenile justice system, churches and other community organizations. It broke my heart wide open in the best way and witnessing their transformation was some of the most meaningful work I’ve ever experienced. I am still in contact with many of them today.
No matter the shifts and changes my work has taken over the years, it was always anchored in storytelling in one form or fashion as a healing modality. As I have often said, once you hear someone’s story, their real story, you cannot help but love them. I have also said repeatedly, that being an actor and having the freedom to express emotions and pain that are often not welcomed in “real life” helped me begin to heal childhood trauma through the characters I played onstage. STORY HELPS US HEAL.
This week, with all the downtime in bed, it seems Spirit helped me hear my next assignment. I’ll be sharing that opportunity with you very soon, maybe in an additional email. In the meantime, I wrote a bit about who I created this next offering to serve. I created this program for:
The mystics
The intuitives
The deep listeners
The wanderers
The wounded healers
The artists
The story-keepers
The story-tellers
The ones who know
The ones who wonder
The ones who feel shattered and shorn
The ones who feel embodied and emboldened
The ones who are scared
but also know they are ready
Those with a story to tell and who long to tell it
Those who want to put the pieces together
Those who want to go in search of missing pieces
Those who have been waiting
Those who don’t think they can write
Those who know they are called to write
Those who want a safe space and companionship to feel and heal their story through writing
Those who know they want to create a memoir or film or series based on their stories
For those of you who want a supportive community for writing and healing your stories for yourself, your family, and your lineage - this is for you.
For those of you who want to explore your stories for inspiration for your film, one-person show, creative project, or memoir- this is for you.
For those of you who want to be introduced to creative-spiritual practices to deepen your connection to your True Self and your healing- this is for you.
More info coming soon!
3 THINGS WORTH SHARING:
1.https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/aware-glimpses-of-consciousness/
2. The Secret Lives of Writers and Mother article on LitHub
3. In case you think that your story doesn’t matter.
Ron’s World:
Yesterday was Ron’s birthday! It was a milestone birthday with a zero at the end.
We celebrated with surprise videos from friends, gifts and lunch out at our favorite restaurant. Thank you to so many of our friends who took the time to send along their video of well wishes - it made his day so special!
Upon opening his birthday card, he remarked,” What does 02 mean?” He then turned his card right-side up. You can’t make this up.
Strong back. Soft front. Heart open. Let’s go.
xoxo Mary
Let’s join forces and bring this back!!!!