Shouting ❤️ Moments
"HEY!"
The woman I was shouting at turned to look. So did the couple she was walking by.
So did, in fact, everyone within a 20 yard radius, including the cluster of people listening to the street musician perform in front of us.
"NO!!!" I instinctively yelled toward her again.
She looked a bit startled.
Honestly, I was a bit startled myself - that my voice was so loud. That she had heard. That she had responded.
The man trailing slightly behind her, presumably recording with the camera phone pointed her direction, quickly shifted into the background.
She drifted apart, casually moving away.
Within a moment they had faded into the passersby shuffling back and forth on the wide sidewalks between the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum.
The couple she'd been nearly arm in arm with a moment before, an older couple with a side bag slung around their neck and close to their side, continued glancing toward us and looking around, understandably bewildered.
I searched the vicinity for any sign of security while my spouse went to explain what had just (almost) happened to the grateful couple.
It was the second time we'd witnessed an attempted pickpocketing in the last 10 minutes, by the same person, on the same stretch of sidewalk.
After my spouse had pointed out the aftermath of the first altercation, I'd been keeping my eye out for the woman in the black hoodie with the bold, shimmery "PUMA" insignia across the front.
And then… there she was, sidling casually along next to the unassuming couple, reaching at the zipper of their side bag.
Although I'm generally quiet, calm, and soft-spoken, preferring not to draw direct attention, my response had been impulsive - and loud.
Yet, I was completely unaffected by the stares from the strangers around me after I (and my spouse, as it turns out) both shouted out.
I didn't regret it, though.
I trusted that if the other onlookers realized what was happening, they, too, would understand. Perhaps they would have done the same...or at least accept the reason for the intrusive and sudden noise.
Don't you wish it was usually so simple?
See a problem (especially before others are harmed), speak out, and have the behavior immediately stop.
Feel trust and faith that others will “get it,” and even support your choices, without the emotional labor of explaining or justifying your experience.
Embody clarity and trust in your perspective, intuition, and choices.
Of course, it's rarely so straightforward. 😉🥲
How much more often do you experience a pause, a fatigue, and an uncertainty about the best path forward?
Perhaps this shows up while you...
Witness the wide world of political debates, wars, and human suffering.
Navigate tense disagreements and differences of opinion in communication with family, friends, and colleagues.
Engage in the internal battle between your drive and motivation, your deep longing for connection and belonging, and your fatigue in the numerous fights for a better world.
Connection to a community of shared values and understanding can make a tremendous difference when you’re facing the complexity of life.
Especially if you're already drowning in the overwhelm of decisions about your personal life and career, wading through grief and loss, and surviving repeat experiences and effects of marginalization.
As clients express regularly...
It’s not easy to find a space that has emotional safety and understanding, community connection with like-minded people, and recognition of the true impact of what you’re going through.
And, it's even more difficult to find a space that has all of this PLUS supportive coaching for growth in tools, strategies, and clarity directly relevant to you.
I'm genuinely asking...
Do you, (or the female-identified changemakers, BIPOC, and women of color in your circles of friends, family, and work) know where to look for this type of community?
Do you (or the women in your circles who frequently experience and recognize marginalization, frustration, and isolation as they work social social and racial justice), have the energy to seek it out and sort through a bunch of “maybe” possibilities?
Or, would it help to have the information about this type of group readily available for if (or when) it's needed?
If you're anything like me and the clients I work with, when you're depleted and fatigued, then even searching for places of support and connection can feel like too much effort.
That's why I hope you'll help yourself and those you care about by spreading the word about the next cohort of the Chrysalis Collective: Nurturing Wellbeing for Changemakers and BIPOC Women.
The Chrysalis Collective offers an intimate space of safety, understanding, vulnerability, coaching, and support for a small number of women who are deeply aware of (and often affected by) experiences of historical marginalization, even as they work to address social and racial injustice in the workplaces, systems, and communities around them.
It's a transformative experience.
As an inaugural Chrysalis Collective participant put it, “I had no idea how helpful this would be!”
It is my sincere wish for the people who might benefit to know that this group exists...and the most effective way to do that is not through social media. (No surprise there, right!?! 😂).
It is through direct introductions and referrals from you, who know me, know what I'm about, and identify as (or know and care about) some of the people who would benefit.
In addition to personal referrals, organizations can sponsor employees and/or use their professional development budget.
These days, things are rarely as simple as 1, 2, 3.
Yet, I've seen again and again what's possible when you have the safety of connection, vulnerability, authenticity, understanding, and support for your wellbeing - even, and especially, as a changemaker.
If you would like more information about the Chrysalis Collective or are willing to make an introduction, please use the contact page to let me know.
Whether Chrysalis Collective is designed for you or whether you receive your support and connection elsewhere, I wish for you the peace and clarity that comes from being fully seen, valued, and celebrated for all that you are.
You matter. You make a difference. I'm so thankful you're here.
🦋 🥰 🦋 🥰
