I am a wife, mother, grandmother (Nana), daughter, sister, auntie, friend & above all else I am striving to be a more conscious human being. Why you might ask? So that I can be better in all of the roles previously named. Moving from the San Francisco bay area (California) to Eastern Washington has been a bit of a challenge. I really believed that I could just transport my life...simply pick it up and move it and continue to do all the things I enjoyed so much in my home of origin. I was mistaken. What is that saying...You can take the girl out of California but you can't take California out of the girl. It's the people in our lives that define who we are. Without them do we become someone different? Do we redefine who we are? How do we do that? What purpose does it serve?
As a doctoral student in my early 50s, I have embarked on a journey of reflection. I thought that it would help me to answer a lot of life's most important questions. I'm finding that the answers I'd been seeking led me to more questions (similar to a twisted labyrinth). Everyday I find myself navigating new waters that most certainly lead to change. What I do know is that this change is the same change that I wish to see in the world...For that is my mission.
Today I'm learning the difference between critical synopsis and critical analysis and applying both to articles concerning social justice. I'm realizing that there is a common thread running through the articles I'm examining. Opposing positions are based on an individual's experiences that lead to their perspective being different from another. How can we reach a state of consensus or even collaboration with such opposing views? I suppose if we could answer that question it might solve half the world's problems. I search within as I seek to better understand those points of view that are different from my own. While I might influence someone to see with different eyes. The only lens I have the power to change is my own...
