The question you pose, “who else is standing along this shoreline?” is important to me. I recall that feeling I had when hesitantly standing on the edge of the high dive board as a 12 year old, yearning to experience the movement and being cushioned by the water below, but the “stories in my head” held physical power and held me back. I am discovering that my awareness of what is a “story” helps greatly. It might have been a story that served me well in the past but is now a barrier. I thank it and let it go now.
When I then notice that there are others also awakening, mirroring back to me and sharing what they are witnessing, I feel the safety of being in a community which helps me to trust that I don’t have to know it all or to control the future. I believe humans are wired to be in community and when simply present within community stories and fear of the future have no physical power to hold me back. We can take one next step and sense our way, grounding and physically present, to identify what is needed. It reminds me of the “chaordic stepping stones” that Laureen Golden introduced me to many years ago.
There’s something so honest and generous in what you’ve shared here. Thank you for not only offering the story of that moment on the diving board, but for illuminating something essential about how transformation actually happens—not through isolation or sheer willpower (grit), but by placing ourselves in the presence of others who are tuning into the same signal we’re sensing in ourselves.
I believe many of us are trying to outgrow old programming, to loosen the grip of stories that once protected us but no longer serve. But we can’t do it alone…We need relational spaces where we can move to a different rhythm. Your comment here feels like a first drumbeat.
Thank you for adding weight and warmth to the field!!
The vision behind From Grit to Grace is to be a recalibration station for the fierce and faithful who refuse to replicate the old world in the name of change. Together, we’re creating a container where new patterns can be felt, named, held, and practiced—in community. Your words are one of the first threads in the basket we’re weaving. Thank you for threading your presence, your story, and your courage to speak with such candor and heart.
The shearwater appears in Episode 1 (launching July 1), but I’ll share this now: to fully open its wings, a bird must lead with its heart. It must expose its most vulnerable, vital center in order to take flight. That’s what you did here. In a room where people are just beginning to trickle in and sense the tone, you made a sacred gesture ~ one that invites intimacy, transformation, and truth-telling.
Thank you for bringing your full presence and your incredible gift for storytelling into this container.
And to those reading along: if Paula’s words stirred something in you… maybe that’s a signal, too. This basket is being woven thread by thread. You’re invited. ;)
The question you pose, “who else is standing along this shoreline?” is important to me. I recall that feeling I had when hesitantly standing on the edge of the high dive board as a 12 year old, yearning to experience the movement and being cushioned by the water below, but the “stories in my head” held physical power and held me back. I am discovering that my awareness of what is a “story” helps greatly. It might have been a story that served me well in the past but is now a barrier. I thank it and let it go now.
When I then notice that there are others also awakening, mirroring back to me and sharing what they are witnessing, I feel the safety of being in a community which helps me to trust that I don’t have to know it all or to control the future. I believe humans are wired to be in community and when simply present within community stories and fear of the future have no physical power to hold me back. We can take one next step and sense our way, grounding and physically present, to identify what is needed. It reminds me of the “chaordic stepping stones” that Laureen Golden introduced me to many years ago.
There’s something so honest and generous in what you’ve shared here. Thank you for not only offering the story of that moment on the diving board, but for illuminating something essential about how transformation actually happens—not through isolation or sheer willpower (grit), but by placing ourselves in the presence of others who are tuning into the same signal we’re sensing in ourselves.
I believe many of us are trying to outgrow old programming, to loosen the grip of stories that once protected us but no longer serve. But we can’t do it alone…We need relational spaces where we can move to a different rhythm. Your comment here feels like a first drumbeat.
Thank you for adding weight and warmth to the field!!
The vision behind From Grit to Grace is to be a recalibration station for the fierce and faithful who refuse to replicate the old world in the name of change. Together, we’re creating a container where new patterns can be felt, named, held, and practiced—in community. Your words are one of the first threads in the basket we’re weaving. Thank you for threading your presence, your story, and your courage to speak with such candor and heart.
The shearwater appears in Episode 1 (launching July 1), but I’ll share this now: to fully open its wings, a bird must lead with its heart. It must expose its most vulnerable, vital center in order to take flight. That’s what you did here. In a room where people are just beginning to trickle in and sense the tone, you made a sacred gesture ~ one that invites intimacy, transformation, and truth-telling.
Thank you for bringing your full presence and your incredible gift for storytelling into this container.
And to those reading along: if Paula’s words stirred something in you… maybe that’s a signal, too. This basket is being woven thread by thread. You’re invited. ;)
—Laureen