Friends
This will be a short post tonight. I only have about half an hour to get this written, as I’ve been struggling with – no – agonizing over – no – crafting the Hoot Alert I just sent out, advertising the upcoming I AM Solstice Symposium.
To any of you out there who are fluent or even simply conversant in creating marketing materials in the digital age, you probably think I’m exaggerating the effort it took me to send that out. But alas, the struggle is real.
I titled this post “Friends” because the host of the I AM Solstice Symposium, Renee Baribeau, is my friend. Indeed, she is one of those friends who pushes me to break through my comfort zone. She challenges me. She pokes and prods and offers me opportunities that I would otherwise probably never have.
That’s Friendship?
Some of you may be thinking, “Yikes. With friends like that…” But I beg to differ.
To me at least, friends are not people who just rubber stamp your feelings. They listen; yes. They have compassion; absolutely.
But do they indulge you when they think you’re misperceiving who you are or what you have to offer to the world? Do they give you a pass when you think you can’t do something, just because you’ve never done it before?
Not in my book.
To me, being a friend is holding a vision of a person out so they can see themselves from your perspective. Being a friend is refusing to buy their bullshit about what they think they can or can’t say, do, or accomplish. Being a friend is holding them up to a higher aspiration than they dare hold for themselves.
I AM Solstice Symposium
Renee and I have both grown a lot in the past 15 years or so that we’ve known each other. Ever since I met her, she’s been pushing me to “get myself out there.” Our first collaboration was the Business of Healing – a weekend-long event she produced in Joshua Tree, CA in which she persuaded me to speak. This was the first time I’d ever given a ‘class’ of any kind – and the first of many times Renee has pushed me past my comfort zone.
Back then, I was the one who’d published a book. Now look at her: a Hay House author. And not ‘just’ an author with a major publisher, but creator of Winds of Spirit, a book that is “Winner of the Nautilus Award, Body Mind Spirit President’s Choice Award, Indies Finalist and the Readers’ Choice Award.”
That’s pretty amazing. And I’m very, very proud of her.
When Renee invited me to participate in the first I AM Symposium, I did not readily accept. I really had to think about it. I was flattered that she asked me, but just the thought of being heard by so many made my blood run cold. If I’m honest, I have to admit that she cajoled me into taking the risk.
This year’s Solstice Symposium is my 4th I AM Symposium event. Obviously, I’m grateful that she thinks enough of me to include me among the roster of the much ‘bigger’ names who are also participating. But even more, I’m grateful that she cared enough to push me past my comfort zone.
Bottom Line
I don’t know if I’ve pushed Renee to break through any of her self-imposed limitations, because I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever seen her let a barrier get in her way. She’s a dynamo. She makes things happen. She’s…indefatigable. And she’s a true friend.
I’m actually extraordinarily lucky. I have more truly amazing friends than anyone’s entitled to have. And I hope they know I try to be to them the type of friend I’ve described above – one that pushes them to be the best and most amazing versions of themselves that they can be. The version of themselves that I see shining out of them whenever I look at them.
Please join us this weekend for the I AM Solstice Symposium. For more fun, and to bring the sacred into your home in a unique manner, sign up to be a Fire Tender. It’s a cool way to join a community of soulful people who listen to the wind.
(T-711)