By Katy Kennedy
How can we be an open village for all people?
Can we leave our doubt at the door and open our hearts to listen, to listen and attend to the singing from the soul sounds of others?
Pay attention.
Pay attention to the meanings.
Pay attention to the descriptions expressed when someone is telling you about moments on their pilgrimage.
The journey of discovering acceptance
involves being fully present in the moment.
How can we learn how to be well together?
How can we learn how to best live together?
How can we keep each other safe?
Can we cooperate and collaborate without fracturing and scapegoating?
We need head space, open space, quiet space, and interior space to reckon with and listen to the voices intrinsic in our own and others’ stories.
Protect hearts.
We need space for reflection, rest, and resiliency. Only then can we discover acceptance for ourselves and others.
What lifts our spirits and gives us balance?
What offers us hope which we can then radiate to others?
How do we protect and safeguard our rhythm, retreat, restoration, and renewal?
TELL THE TRUTH!
Tell the truth about the present and turn to each other.
Ask questions.
Listen.
Ask for help.
LISTEN!
There is power and transformation in people telling their stories in shared hospitality of the heart.
Katy Kennedy is a member of Follow Your Art Community Studios. She shared her story of living with visual disabilities during the In Real Life Storytelling Event hosted by FYACS and The Melrose Commission on Disabilities on June 10, 2023 at Temple Beth Shalom in Melrose. For the past 16 years Katy has struggled with autoimmune-based cornea dystrophies. The combination of multiple, rare, and progressive eye diseases has been life changing. Katy ended her narration with a poem she wrote after being inspired during her coaching session with Chris Robinson. The Art of Revision writing workshop with Theresa Okokon at FYACS gave her the confidence to edit her poem, read it during the IRL event, and submit it for publication to Palette.
Read more stories on Palette.