Pearls

“Maya would be so proud of you.”  These are the words that two teens, who I had never met before shared with me during a brief interaction.  These are the words that brought a lump to my throat and then the tears.  Were the sentiments behind these words, “thank you.  Your work is helping us.  It is helping many”?

We were at the last event of the Maya Gold Foundation for the fall.  It was a deeply moving presentation.  It was one in which the presenter, Mykee Fowlin, masterfully peeled off the masks that we all carry around.  He subtly wove in lessons of hope.  He didn’t clobber the audience over the head; yet my sense is that the teens especially, walked away, knowing that there is support out there.  Belief in oneself and seeing the light in others were also part of the tapestry.  A golden thread for me was the metaphor Mykee used in talking about the pearl.

“What is it that makes a pearl?” Mykee asked the audience.  Everyone chimed in, “a grain of sand.”  “Well, not exactly.  That is what everyone thinks.”  It is the painful process that comes from the irritant (of the sand) that makes the beautiful gem.

I have truly been throwing myself into the work that has been presented to me at this time.  Yes, some of the work has been the co-creation the Maya Gold Foundation.  My profound work has been the process of going into the seemingly bottomless depths of the pain.

Photo taken in Costa Rica, 2008