Into the Well

The words Women at the Well came to me as a whisper. I accepted gratefully as they danced their way into the title of a new program I was noodling on. Re-entering the world of work from cancer treatment, I was following an inner call to create a nurturing experience for women away from the demands and pressures of their lives – an opportunity to remember the good, true, and beautiful in our nature.

Sometimes we get a sneak preview – a glimmer, a phrase, a question, the seed of an idea – that is meant to incubate and work us over time. This is the case with Women at the Well. Yes, it is the title of a program. And it goes much deeper. More profoundly, it is a pilgrimage to the well of what I came here to do.

Exactly where this will lead is not clear to me yet; that it doesn’t need to be is the fun part. The destination is not the point. I am currently immersed in the metaphor of wells, water, and the fluid nature of life. I am just as curious as the next person about where it will flow.

These are not uncharted waters. I’ve heard whispers like these before. Fifteen years ago I followed another whisper, Tracking the Wisdom, on a grand adventure.  Sitting alone in my office planning the strategic direction for my new business, I could never have imagined where it would lead. Today, it continues to unfold in meaning.

What I’ve learned is to follow the thread and enjoy the surprise of where it leads. Following what has heart and meaning is the thread that I hold fast to. No matter what. It has never ever steered me wrong. Trust the process, do the footwork, and be open to the outcome is my tactical plan.

This is the shift. From charging, driving, and making things happen, to adopting a state of relax and allow. Something new is being born in us if we but let it.

Eighteen women from very diverse backgrounds came to the inaugural Women at the Well. Some had never done anything like this before. Some I didn’t even know. They were each following an inner call of their own.

I was humbled by the vulnerability, trust, and truth spoken. By the grace and ease with which we flowed through the weekend. By the fairy tale beauty of the redwood forest that held us.

The physical transformation of each woman by Sunday afternoon was breathtaking. Yes, there were tangible takeaways. It is the intangible that has the most lasting impact.

Many of us are feeling the longing for deeper relationship with ourselves and each other. There is a thirst for a new conversation – a new way of being – which we are discovering together.

This is an ancient way of being that we are remembering – to relax and allow. Relax and let go – of expectations, perceptions, and old ideas of how we think we need to be. Allow what wants to be born to emerge naturally in its own rhythm and time.

We are becoming more of ourselves – our true nature – while being witness to the becoming of each other in the process.

Anne Hillman captures it well:

We look with uncertainty

We look with uncertainty
beyond the old choices for
clear-cut answers
to a softer, more permeable aliveness
which is every moment
at the brink of death;
for something new is being born in us
if we but let it.
We stand at a new doorway,
awaiting that which comes…
daring to be human creatures,
vulnerable to the beauty of existence.
Learning to love.

What whispers are you hearing?

What is the creation that wants to be born through you?

Where in your life can you relax and allow?

I am delighted to announce the next Women at the Well – March 27-29, 2015. Early bird registration now open until Feb. 15th.

Come to the Well

One Response to “Into the Well”

1. Mary Brady says:

   January 16, 2015 at 6:00 pm

   Thank you for sharing so much beauty Mary – and guiding so many to discover the beauty revealed at the core presence of life’s mystery. You are a wonder! Love to YOU!!

   Reply