Our Women's Conference Call tonight touched our souls

As we entered our coming together as women of odor and reached out to each other from our solitude in a desperate attempt to encounter closeness, compassion, support, and guidance, an incessant, reverberating, universal pulse beat amongst us as it echoed in the caves of our souls. Here we poured out our innermost burdens, and in that moment of fleeting union, we somehow found strength to carry on.

“As I grew up, I saw myself looking through my window to an outside world I couldn’t be a part of…I waited for the other kids to finish playing, knowing that then it was my turn to go out when they were gone…it is too painful,” said one voice that spoke for all. “I have to force myself to leave my house to go get groceries…we have to take it because we have kids we want to take care of,” said another.

Then another voice spoke out, “How do you get to the next stage?” one answered, “I’m in the anger stage, the 'Why me?' stage” Another replied, “We need to take control of our lives by setting boundaries and limits and being selective with who we push away and who we let inside. Sometimes in our quest for refuge into isolation, we end up pushing away those who want to give us the love and support we so desperately need.”

We all left this call knowing that it was just the beginning of a journey we will pursue together to get to the next stage, and the next, and the next. We walked away knowing that a tiny seed was planted in each of us that will grow as we continue to nurture it together, just as we nurture our children and cultivate our homes.