Life keeps laughing at me, but it’s okay because I’m laughing along.
After my big declaration in yesterday’s post, I woke up this morning to a deluge of emails and Facebook posts letting me know the TEDxOjaiWomen talks are finally up on the TED site. So for those of you who’ve asked, here it is.
If it resonates at all, please share it. The more we can stay present with grief, the more open our conversation can be around it, the better off we all are.
Check out the other TEDxOjaiWomen speakers: Dyana Valentine, Instigator (I’m Not Sorry), Kira Ryder, Yogini (Slip Into Something More Comfortable), Colleen Wainwright, The Communicatrix (Are You Sure It’s Impossible?) akka b, Poet (Permission to Play), Gloria M. Miele, PhD, Business Consultant (What I’ve Learned Being a Girl Scout), and Alison Ivy, Money DeMystifier (The Gift of Money Know-How).
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On another note, I’ve been meaning to share Raising Roses with you all too. I’ve written before about my friend Roos in Amsterdam (or Rose, to translate her name). Her husband Kenji has acute lymphoblastic leukemia and is fighting for his life after a double cord blood transplant. Though they are lucky to live in a country with socialized health care, some of his new cocktail of drugs is not covered. Roos will have to return to work soon, but right now she is full-time mama, wife and caregiver. Zen author and teacher Karen Maezen Miller (whose words have also helped me navigate the last 18 months) launched Raising Roses in order to help defray some of their costs. There are hundreds of worthy causes that could use our money, particularly at this time of year. If Roos and Kenji’s journey touches your heart, please consider supporting them as well. You can do so here.
Oh, well done, Alana. Well done indeed. And wonderful to hear today, a few hours after I had a bout with tears and grief and fists shaken at ceilings. (As you do.)
Enjoy your break. I’ll have a new domain name in the new year and I’ll find you then with a big 2012 hug.
Chills. Huge chills! (and how unbelievably amazing that you gave a speech like that to sich an audience, it felt like you were talking to me personally!). My dear friend, our lives are so much aligned. I cannot wait to discover more of the lessons that are coming across to me each and every day; stepping into the fire it is!
Thank you also very much for mentioning Raising Roses! (One minor edit: most of the drugs are indeed covered by our health insurance, but some aren’t. Neither are the supplementary feedings that Kenji’s taking twice a day, etc etc.)
oops typo, I meant such an audience of course
You are an amazing woman, Alana. I so appreciate your willingness to be so present to yourself, your heart, your grief, your space. What a gift you are. xoxo
Beautiful. I spotted the video on FB this afternoon and shared immediately. I am so very proud of you and your wide open heart and willingness to share your journey. Brava, my friend, and love to you.
Beautifully spoken from a beautiful woman.
Much love and may your holidays be filled with many blessings.
Cheri & Doug Masek
Alana this is amazing. I take away this line: “I listened to myself.”
I hope this comes across the right way, but you don’t even look the same as you did 3 years ago. You look younger and so radiant. You were gorgeous then but you just shine now.
Thank you for this. xoxo
You are a courageous and insightful woman. Thank you for sharing your journey so that I and others may learn from you.
Alana, brilliant. A wonderful video, a beautiful sharing of your heart, so eloquently and authentically expressed. I am so honored to know you.
I am sharing your video on my fan page. It will inspire many.
Much love!- Jeannie
This is just fantastic. What a gift to see and hear you talking about your powerful work. *Thank you*. That sounds so small compared to how much I mean it.
Much love to you!
Hi Alana,
I found you via Pamela at Walking on My Hands… it’s so nice to meet you, to listen, and especially to see and hear you in this video. Your ease and openness are striking.
There is so much that resonates with me from your talk, and I am especially grateful for this: “I told my story. I listened to myself.”
It is at though that gift you gave yourself, of listening, has allowed you to become a gift to others. Thank you.
Blessings,
Stacy