“Sharon, did you change your email. Did you stop writing? Did you delete me from your mailing list?
“No, No and No”.
I’m here. Right here where I left off or perhaps I’m not. Perhaps I’m somewhere else, other than where I was.
I hope during my lapse at writing, while I’ve been viewing life, living life and jotting down my observations, I’ve been becoming more of who I am.
I consider myself to be open minded. I embrace new ideas. I entertain different perspectives. I try new things. I feel I say yes to Life more than I say no. And yet, I became aware of how small my world was. Observing my day to day reality I noticed that it was primarily one colour, culture and nationality.
I wondered if I didn’t move out and into other worlds would I fall into the realm of feeling I knew other’s without even meeting them? Would I simply listen to the news, absorb headlines and adopt the opinions of others forming a truth that may not be in any way accurate?
I decided to step out of my tiny circle and take a walk around in some different realities.
My friend Tonya and I began a venture we coined “Eat, Pray, Love” after Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir. We began visiting different places of faith and culture and dining on the complimenting cuisine.
It’s quite amazing when you shake another’s hand, engage in conversation to learn who another is, you can find yourself hearing the words in your brain, “I didn’t know. I thought it was…” over and over. It’s humbling to become conscious of your ignorance. When you sit with someone in prayer and celebrate together you come to realize how alike we are.
In July we took it to the next level. We reserved a space at an annual event, called Discovery Week. In that week we took classes, visited places of worship and ritual and ate, ate and ate with fifteen different faiths and practices.
I simply have to list them, so humour me.
Hinduism, Hare Krishna, Wicca (during a full moon), Native Spirituality, Judaism, a Hasidic Yeshiva School (a place of study for boys), Daoism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Evangelicalism, Pentecostalism, Rastafarianism ,Sikhism, Greek Orthodox and Zen.
Every encounter asked me to stretch, grow, relax, be open and enjoy.
People invite you in, welcome you, thank you for venturing out to ask questions, learn and share and break bread together. They want you to know them, not simply hear about them and think you know them.
I took a drumming class – West African djembe drums!
Here I released some inhibitions. I surprised myself. I could actually do it! I even ventured to close my eyes and trust that I could ride the rhythm and if I lost the beat, I’d just sneak a peak at a veteran drummer and find my way back through the movement of their hands. Women coming together to drum. It was exhilarating!
I joined Stride, a Restorative Justice program through Community Justice Initiatives. A organization that is striving for us all to know what it is to live in a just community. I began volunteering at Grand Valley Institute, a women’s federal prison.
Sitting with women, enjoying an activity together and engaging in conversation, where for a couple of hours allowing them the opportunity to be a woman in the company of another woman – where no one is judged by who or where they are at this time. Compassion for one another, hope for change for the better, belief that all are deserving of moving forward. Women being good to each other, supporting one another in living and thriving to our potential.
Venturing into another’s domain doesn’t mean you immediately abandon yours and take on theirs. Doesn’t mean yours is wrong, that you should feel guilty for your own peace, prosperity, good health or joy.
What it does mean is that you now welcome experiences and relationships outside of your careful reality. You meet people that would never have been on your path. You ask questions, you would never have dared to ask. You have conversations as two humans rather than two people who appear to be different. You acknowledge someone’s existence as valuable rather than wasted. You allow yourself to be lost in the rhythm of a drum.
Fresh eyes, new perspectives and truth seep into your existence and you are amazed at what you thought you knew and now you know. And in the knowing, you awaken to how much more there is to learn.
All these world’s I ventured into were no more than an hour away from my front door.
This is where I’ve been.
As Emily Dickinson wrote, I’ve been “Tasting Life. ”
Take Note of Your Life
What are the circles you live in?
Do you ever venture out?
Dare to enter into worlds unknown. You may only have to cross the street
Photos by; Sharon Cooke and Encounter World Religions