my story
A few years ago I spent time at a cancer center in NYC listening to and writing poems for patients, providers and care team members. It was part of my work as a listener poet with The Good Listening Project, a non-profit that brings listening into hospitals to support healing and provider resilience. One day, I was set up in the cafeteria with my typewriter, waiting for people to sit down for the experience. An inpatient was lingering around the table I was sitting at. On a few occasions she would ask questions about what I was doing and engage in conversation. She was curious about the experience of being listened to and then receiving a poem capturing what she shared. She never sat down to have the full experience but she shared an observation that struck me — by listening to and writing poems for people I, and other listener poets on our team, were helping participants to connect with and express parts of themselves that they don’t always have touch with.
The following poem is inspired by this woman:
The place in this poem, the part of oneself that is rich with innate knowledge and capacity, is one that I have known about for most of my life. As a little girl I remember lying in bed, drifting to this space of knowledge that felt distant yet right between my heart and my belly. It often felt so amorphous and unclear that I would force myself to snap out of it because I was fearful and uncertain where it might lead. I didn’t know how to navigate it and I was scared to do so alone.
Fast forward 20+ years and it has become my life’s work to bring attention to this place within a person and encourage the expression of it because of the truth, freedom and authenticity I see it can provoke. In addition to being a daily practice in my own life, it is the lens through which I approach all of my work as a co-founder, professional coach, leadership facilitator, writer and artist.
Today I am creating opportunities for children and young adults to listen to, trust and express their inner voices. All of my work is shared with the intention to create calming and supportive atmospheres for self-discovery, self-understanding and self-expression.