Uncovering beliefs and assumptions is one of my favorite parts of practice. It’s thrilling to discover an invisible belief that has been back there, impacting countless areas of life without my even realizing it existed! The moment I see it, the possibility of being free of it appears.
Last week Theresa organized a call with Mirriam and Sylvia and some of the other girls in the Girls Program. Mirriam and Sylvia are two of the young women who graduated from grade 12 last year (the first in the program to achieve that milestone); they started nursing school last month. Theresa told us the girls were ecstatic to talk with Mirriam and Sylvia.
“You wouldn’t believe it!” she told us. “They were so excited! Natasha said to me, ‘PLEASE, Auntie, take me to see them with you the next time you go. I want to see them there. I want to see it is real. I am going to be like them. That is going to be me.’”
The impact these two girls going to nursing school has had on the entire community cannot be overstated. Theresa said that people from throughout the community have come to the Living Compassion property to celebrate and congratulate the team. I project what has happened is that an invisible, communally-held belief has been revealed. Something along the lines of: “We can’t do that. We’re not those kinds of people. Maybe one person here or there might achieve it, but it cannot be a possibility open to anyone who wants it. And certainly it is not worth investing in a girl who will likely never make it.”
All of those things have been revealed as lies. Completely untrue. The girls, their families, and the entire community suddenly see the very real possibility that the cycle can be broken of children being born into families who have no opportunity to earn an income that will be able to pay for adequate nutrition, a safe home to live in, and access to health care and education.
Imagine how thrilling to be Natasha, Benandette, Sofia, Joyce, Memory… and realize you are it! You are the ones who are in a position to achieve for yourself, your family and your community what has not been achieved before. And to be Mirriam and Sylvia, the lights that are leading the way.
One of the greatest lessons I have learned from my own practice is that the belief being revealed, and the exhilaration of seeing the possibility, is the beginning of the journey. Now begins the process of practicing—putting ourselves in the environment that will support us and remind us every day of possibility. The forces (largely internal and often mirrored externally) that will attempt to hold us back are formidable, and thus we hold hands as we move forward together!
Stay tuned for news coming soon on how we will hold hands with the team in Kantolomba this coming fall!
In Gassho
Jen