Our Tribes

Tonight, life delivered a gift to my doorstep. I shared the evening with an old friend, and two new friends, at a book signing and dinner that followed. I looked around the restaurant and saw many women friends who had gathered together to have a time that was separate from their male counterparts, cocooned within a world of voice where there is understanding. At our table, there was no talk of the Superbowl, or who might win; no talk of Tiger Woods nor golf; there was no male bashing or gender bias. We were together, the four of us, and although I had only just met two of the women, I recognized them as part of my "tribe."

We all need our tribe. It is a place we can go to reignite our sense of self. There was not always agreement at the table; but what there was at the table was silent, of a special brand, that sweet voice of understanding. When we discussed our experiences, our hearts, our sorrows, there was an unspoken voice present at all times, telling us that we were safe and somehow intuitively understood each other, even when we did disagree. What we each had to share and add to the conversation added light and opened up another vista of perception for us. In that intimate setting, in the middle of a crowded restaurant, we connected.

I also learned how important it is to take our voice, unique to us and perhaps foreign to the rest of the world we travel in, and speak it with confidence. We talked about how important it is to be the witness to what we  know; to carry our uniqueness confidently and with our heads held high. Whenever we take poise, and peace, and compassion into the chaos of life, we dilute the prejudices that threatens to swarm and smother the light we call our own. I hope this forum to be a tribe; a place for women to come to offer insight, to learn to have strength in their voice. To learn to trust life so that life can trust them. So welcome, my fellow tribes-women. Welcome home...