This past Friday, I had the privilege of working with two other Peace Corps volunteers to lead a resiliency training for our newest gang of trainees, EC 83. During the training, a light bulb went off; I suddenly realized that having resiliency in life is really having the courage to be. To be the imperfect, always curious, decision making, beautiful human being that all of us are. To stand within our own power to make a difference in this wild world of ours. True resiliency requires us to own our reality, forgive ourselves and move gently forward with compassion for self and others.
Leading the training, got me to thinking about this little blog I have going. It has been a crazy experience. I have moved from feeling like I HAD to write something to everyday thinking of something I just have to share because I hope that it will bring a smile to someone's face. Of course, the daily routine and my own fear of really becoming a "story teller," often get in the way and you all end up with a post a week (I am still working on it). As with anything that could potentially go to a large audience, I worry that my intentions in sharing stories could be misconstrued so I developed a reader's guide so that you (the proverbial reader) and I (Miss Sarah Smith) will be on the same (web)page.
1. I do not work in a silo, nor do I want to. Everything that I do here in St. Vincent is done only through the relationships that I have. I would not be able to volunteer for two years away from home if I didn't have my friends and family support me. I would not be able to be an effective teacher if I didn't have the support from other teachers and my principal. It might look like I am a hero but really I am just a person who likes to tell stories. I only feel comfortable telling the stories that I have lived. At this point in my life, my experiences are pretty sweet, I mean I do live on an island where people still smile with reckless abandon but I still have a lot of tough moments, it is my support network that continues to remind me that there is beauty in the struggle.
2. I am powerful. And so are you. Often times, I hear people say something along the lines of "Oh I could never do that!" In my mind, all of us are always capable of doing that which will make us happy. For me, it was joining the Peace Corps. For you, it could be anything. I have faith that it doesn't matter whether I am standing in front of a class or just pulling weeds; I have something to share with the world and I want to share it even if the act of sharing can be a scary experience. No one is better than me and I am better than no one.
3. This is not a here and there issue; this is an everywhere issue. For me, the easiest thing to do with this experience would be to put it in a box and label everything as a "there" issue. "Boy am I happy to live in America where none of that crazy stuff that was happening in St. Vincent is going down, " I would say after I move home and it would be true. I would most likely be one of the blissfully ignorant. I wouldn't be a bad person at all but I would always put a distance between myself and the inhumanity of the world. The longer I am here, the more I realize that although I am not responsible for the hatred and oppression that have led to a world in which children go to bed hungry when there is more than enough to go around, ultimately, as a human, I have a responsibility for bending the world towards the positive. If I refuse to even acknowledge that people are suffering everywhere (namely right next door in that perfect McMansion not just in developing countries) then the separation between people will continue to grow and only cause more unrest. I am responsible for not contributing to making that space between my heart and yours any bigger. Nothing is nothing so do something.
4. I cannot go it alone. Alright, so this is where the reader's guide gets really personal but I can't expect anyone to do anything that I won't do myself. This is me, asking you for what I need. So here it is, I want to become a professional story creator (writing, doodles, pictures). If you like what you see here tell your friends. Pass it on. If something I write doesn't sit right with you, let me know. If you ever feel hopeless after reading a Smithers Island story, tell me, because the only thing that I am interested in sharing is an absolutely relentless hopefulness that we, as a world, can do better. Harmony can be our reality.
5. From now on, this is just me being unabashedly me.
6. I appreciate you taking the time to read this blog more than you could ever know.
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