Persist, it is the title of a new book written by Elizabeth Warren, a woman I respect for her courage and values. Also for her persistence.
This is a woman who has fought her way into leadership in a man’s world. A woman who has been smacked down and derailed from her path. Whose dreams have been thwarted. This is a woman who suffered public and personal humiliation when she lost out on her bid for a presidential nomination. A leader who missed out on an opportunity to lead.
This is something I can relate too. Having the courage to start something, against all odds, take a risk, and dream a dream into reality. To lead and build something on the conviction of one’s beliefs. Only to see it slip through your fingers just as it was gaining momentum. To watch it change and shift into a new shape. To hold space for that change and to wait. For the next opportunity to lead.
Persist. This one word sentiment fills me with strength. In spite of circumstances and the choices of others, I choose to persist. I remember and still believe in what I started and why. The dream of supporting a community in self-discovery and personal growth. Conviction in the importance of education, the power behind teaching. Knowing we are all teachers, and everything we experience is a lesson.
Faith in my ability to share this knowledge, to teach, and affect positive change in the lives of others. To serve; and while doing so grow in my own right, my own faith, and ability to love. To share, and grow the wisdom, the magic.
I still believe in all of this. In spite of the incredible hurdles the pandemic has brought to the Yoga/wellness industry.
I also know deep in my heart people need people and eventually living life through a screen will not be enough. Human touch, smiles, the ring of laughter, the smell of another, the heat and sensation of a room full of other bodies.
The energy we feel through being in community, that spark of connection, the magic of the union of breath, of voice, the blending of our hearts. We need this to thrive. Our souls cry out for it.
And since I also believe our souls are on a journey to grow, I believe we will once again come together body to body in the same room. So I will persist. I will continue to hold space and to rebuild and expand upon what I believe in.
I am not done. And neither should you be. Whatever it is you believe in, your truth, recall why you believed in the first place. Feel the conviction, the power, breathe it into your heart, and persist.