How Can You Know Someone, but Not Know Her?
How can you know someone and not know her...not know what a profound influence she will come to have on your life? We had had a professional relationship for about 10 years and had known each other upwards of 13 when my revelation began to unfold. We had almost daily contact for many of those, when she was my dean at the college. Although I was aware of some details about her life, I did not know HER.
Interestingly, it was after she embarked on opportunities beyond college administration that I started to learn about Dr. Dawn Reno Langley. An already accomplished author, Dawn had published a new novel, The Mourning Parade, and I wanted to support the release. Who knew that in the main character, Sophie - a traumatized elephant, I could see so much of myself and develop a deeper understanding of the author who birthed Sophie from her own traumas, sojourns, and imagination? After reading this literary masterpiece, I invited Dawn to my college classes to guest lecture on themes like culture, socialization, abuse, and symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - something Dawn and I learned we, sadly, had in common - due to past experiences. As we spent this time together, we learned more about one another....and I learned from her...and how she embodies, as her newly published book suggests, You Are the Divine Feminine.
I believe it is important to tell people how much they have meant to your own journey. I am sure that Dawn does not realize the role she has played in mine. You see, when I awakened in the middle of the night in April 2018 with the God-inspired idea that I needed to embark on this new photography journey, I immediately questioned it. I didn’t believe in myself. Messages of “I’m not good enough” ran rampant in my head. However, I found inspiration in many things and people. Dawn was one. As I watched her own courageous journey to have the faith and the belief in herself to live her dreams and create her own journey with those things she loves, I was inspired. It made me believe that I could do the same. She encouraged me. Her successes made me want to try...to realize how much I would regret it if I didn’t. I am so thankful for this relationship we have developed. I am grateful for her successes. I celebrate her and am so very proud of her. I appreciate the blessings she bestowed on me...without even realizing it. I am thankful for the happy tears that are falling as I write this...
Blessings ~
Lisa