I was having dinner with a very dear friend last night and we were talking about my experience last weekend working with the Compassion Prison Project (CPP) team and going inside the Valley State Prison in Chowchilla, California for two days to meet and hold space with some of the men who are currently housed in that facility…
In our dinner conversation, my friend rightfully observed that I had not put out or said anything publicly about it since that initial video clip (on Facebook) that I made right before heading into the prison facility on the first day… and she’s right…
And to be honest, I think it’s likely because I’m not quite sure what to say about the entire experience that could do it any form of justice…
but, what I CAN say is that it was LIFE-CHANGING for me …
Really! How does one accurately put into words all of the little/big miracles observed and felt…
the countless and quietly profound movements of the Divine witnessed …
the many visual, “right-in-front-of-your-face” affirmations of what the power of sharing a little bit of love and compassion can do…
the many bridges of healing and of better understanding built on the mere acknowledgment that we humans really DO have so much MORE in common with each other than not…
What I CAN initially express off the top of my head and my heart is that I now know where it is that I need to be… the calling that I need to answer (among many other callings!) … the work that I need to be doing, that my heart needs to be a part of … and so it is now that I can place myself deliberately and firmly on that path of learning what I need to do so that I can do it… immediately!
In that setting and situation, within those prison walls, for those two precious days earlier this month (April 2022), I felt so competent, confident, and ON FIRE while holding space for, and sitting/standing in circle with – in solidarity with – others on my team and those we were serving, who are all bravely and intently stepping up and stepping forward into a new way of connecting with others…
Stepping into, and boldly facing, the many challenges and adversities that afflict the human experience … and then RISING ABOVE them and peeling away the years…
the generations…
the centuries of the dark/shadow side of the human conditions… the parts of our human condition that promote ugliness, misunderstandings, a lack of the desire to understand, oppression, intolerance, hatred – insert any harmful and fear-driven term of adversity here ____________.
It is now time!
Well, to be quite frank, it was actually TIME a long time ago, but sometimes we humans are slow on the uptake…
So, again I say, it is NOW TIME … and we need to begin!
My friends… I am more than willing and happy to dialogue… to share in this conversation with you… to share more of my experiences with you … and I am quite certain that I will share more and more as I feel called and inspired to…
but for now I really am still processing… stay tuned…
With love. ❤️
***if you wish to learn more about Compassion Prison Project and the work that we do, please click on the following link:
Thanks for your blog, nice to read. Do not stop.
Thank you.
Thank you! I hope to do more writing and update blog posts soon! Be well, Denise
Thank you for checking out my site, it’s been a BUSY summer for me, so I hope to write more posts soon … be well, Denise
Thank you for your kind and gracious words – it’s been a BUSY summer for me, so I am slow to respond to comments. I hope to write more on my blog soon. Blessings to you! xo, Denise