The Library We Hold Within

by Kerry Dalzotto, Advanced Soul Coaching(R) Practitioner

I stood there alone with a scrumptious canape in one hand and my entrance ticket in the other. I watched and observed as others around me mingled and chatted with one another, laughing, smiling and catching up. It felt like high school all over again, searching for that group or friend to make you feel less alone amongst a sea of socialites.

It was my first writer’s event in my hometown. I recognised many faces from local newspapers and even a prominent journalist. Who was I to think I could stand among these individuals, writers and authors across various genres and act as if I were one of them? And yet, I did. I decided long ago that despite any odds, I was determined to have my words matter. This fabulous wide world of ours has many voices and many stories to tell, and many who are doing it with ease and grace, and I was determined that I too would be heard. My story hasn’t been told by anyone else because it’s mine. Like you, we each have our own lessons and stories along life’s adventures, but how we choose to look at life changes our trajectory.

A great mentor once told me, “Kerry, if you spot it, you’ve got it”. Immersing myself in that crowd of writers and published authors many moons ago allowed me to witness inside of me the desire to become the author I knew I could be. Despite any unknown territory, and yes, I was in unchartered waters, I knew a truth deep inside with the yearning to be all that I could be which helped trump any fears of imposter syndrome.

I could’ve decided to scurry back to my car and take the short drive home with my tail between my legs, yet I stood my ground. I watched as these journalists, poets, and other writers mingled amongst their peers celebrating the festive season. Then with a confident smile, I started to work the room myself, and before I knew it, I too had someone to share a conversation with; I too felt like I belonged.

It was then time for the guest speaker to talk, and that’s when I knew the real reason for my presence there that evening. The premise that I was there to “act as if” and mingle alongside these accomplished authors was one thing. Still, the words I needed to hear came from a courageous indigenous woman who bravely stood at the podium and spoke, albeit with a quiver and shared her truth with us that evening.

An aboriginal of the stolen generation, she spoke of remembering a spiritual moment within her mother’s womb hearing the words “I love my baby, please look after it”.

The words shared, and this woman’s pain, her sorrow, the ache she felt having grown up without her biological mother, and the trauma she endured throughout her life pulled at my heartstrings. Not only was her story deeply touching, but synchronicity would be at play given that my very own manuscript and the story I was writing were all about healing our wounds, particularly, that of the mother line and womb connection.

There is a deep wound within us all—an aspect of our life’s journey that we are working on healing. In life, we need to keep some chapters open so we may reflect and grow. We need not know it all right now. We may not remember all the words, but our soul remembers the truth, which gives rise to healing when we are ready.

It is our words that may heal the world around us. We may not know the impact we have on someone. Words hold power; words hold magic; words hold the stories we have long held.

It is through telling our stories that we give rise to helping others to understand we are all similar and ultimately we are all okay. To understand that the past does not define us and that within us all, we have the power to create a new chapter of our choosing.

What is the story you are telling yourself right now? Just like a bird, we may grow our wings, imagine how flight feels, and then find the courage to use them. We each have wings, and if we dare try, we may find a new chapter in which to fly higher than we could ever imagine.

Be the storyteller of your personal book, the library within your soul, the one who looks back with wonder at all that unfolded to enable those pages to light the flame within.

I went up and congratulated this speaker afterwards and introduced myself. She looked deeply into my eyes; she saw not of my features but my soul. Humble, she thanked me and said “it is not easy to share the stories of your truth”.

We may not always know what’s around the next corner or why we may be in a specific place at a certain time, but our willingness to keep going with the understanding that we are precisely where we need to be at any given time.

Remember that there is always a higher purpose in those times of uncertainty or when imposter syndrome creeps in. When you align your truth with your heart and soul, there isn’t a crowd full of people who can’t see that you, too, belong and that your words, your stories and indeed you as an individual, matter.

Have faith in yourself and trust that even in foreign territory, you can grow and expand in ways you may only realise in the time that follows.

Stories are what our ancestors knew would be how we help heal ourselves from the unresolved pain we store in a place only we know how to unlock.

Kerry Dalzotto  – Author of Seeds for Tomorrow: How to Access Your Power & Potential to Create Lasting Happiness

“I am the owner of Sacred Wellness here in my beautiful home town of Adelaide, South Australia where I provide a safe space for healing the body, mind and soul. I understand the importance of nourishing ourselves from the inside out and acknowledge that each individual has their own unique stories of wisdom, strength, courage and triumph in an often fast paced world full of challenges and wondrous beauty..”

READ MORE