Whenever women get together, we have an opportunity to share our stories. While the cadence of each narrative may differ wildly from our own, we recognize something familiar in the storyteller’s experience. That’s the rhythm of sisterhood. It calls us to bear witness to each other’s herstory and preserve these sacred accounts.

When I learned of this year's theme for National Women's Month, “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories,” I knew I had to invite Reverend Dr. Irene Taylor. She’s a retired pastor who has served her professional calling for almost 40 years, including as a United States Army Reserve chaplain. To say that she has impacted the lives of many women is an understatement. Although our time in conversation falls short of capturing Reverend Irene’s full brilliance, it honors and celebrates her contribution to our ever-expanding treasury of women’s truths.

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If this conversation has brought you to an insight, a story, a sense of relief, please email me at lisa@insideoutrecovery.com and let me know.

Take care,

Lisa

Get connected!

lisa@insideoutrecovery.com

Facebook: @insideoutliving

Instagram: @insideoutconversations

LinkedIn: Lisa Lackey

Insideout Conversations is edited by The Creative Impostor Studios.

Theme music is by Nicholas77 at freesound.org and is licensed under the Creative Commons.

Learn more about Lisa and her clinical practice, Insideout Living: https://www.insideoutrecovery.com/  

Mothers and daughters. As I grow older––moving through years that I previously only ever associated with my mother, casting off ages that will belong to my daughter soon enough––I think about the passage of time and return to the interconnectedness of this matrilineal relationship.

Whether the kinship is affectionate, strained, or lost altogether, there are mysteries bound up in our mother-daughter connections, an amniotic “knowing” that extends back to our first mother. It’s a reminder that when we were in our mother's womb, we shared that space with her. And when she was still forming within her mother, the seeds of our existence were also present there. All down the line. We transmit a rhythm from one generation to the next. Familiar, yet mysterious.

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If this conversation has brought you to an insight, a story, a sense of relief, please email me at lisa@insideoutrecovery.com and let me know.

Take care,

Lisa

Get connected!

lisa@insideoutrecovery.com

Facebook: @insideoutliving

Instagram: @insideoutconversations

LinkedIn: Lisa Lackey

Insideout Conversations is edited by The Creative Impostor Studios.

Theme music is by Nicholas77 at freesound.org and is licensed under the Creative Commons.

Learn more about Lisa and her clinical practice, Insideout Living: https://www.insideoutrecovery.com/  

When this conversation closes, you'll remember the name Mishara D. Winston. What's more, you'll remember––or learn for the first time––how to make and keep promises to yourself.

That's all a boundary is, a commitment we hold sacred because we are sacred. We are worthy of promises kept. Even when we aren't doing it for someone else. Even when we're not striving for greatness. Even when we aren't struggling. These are potent reminders for Black women, the group first and most often pressured to break promises we've authored for ourselves.  

Although I've only known Mishara for a few short months, I feel like we've known each other for a lifetime. As young as she is, Mishara's already retired from the role of traditional mental health therapist. She now operates from a zone more aligned with her spirit as a Black healer, working within her community to heal trauma and address the generational impact of trauma. Mishara leans into the holistic principles of Black community (self-awareness, accountability, compassion) and incorporates these gifts into her myriad regenerative spaces, including Tribe, Thrive, and Crave.

"I think of boundaries not as something we set, not as something we put up, and not as something that can be crossed, but as kept promises to ourselves," Mishara says, adding, "It's a contract between me and me––, and there's no way for another person to keep my promise to me."

When we sit with that explanation for a bit, we understand that boundaries are not inherently selfish or exclusionary (although the person trying to cross yours might beg to differ; let them). Instead, boundaries provide a map of our hearts to anyone willing to honor the terms under which they are created. That includes ourselves. 

This colonial culture under which we're groomed is all too happy to help us break the promises we've made to ourselves, and the trickle-down effect of that severing is evident. But when we set our boundaries and keep that sacred pact, the juiciness can't help but flow outward. This is what Mishara describes as being in reciprocal alignment with community. And no one can stem that tide!

CONNECT WITH MISHARA D. WINSTON

Website

Patreon

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If this conversation has brought you to an insight, a story, a sense of relief, please email me at lisa@insideoutrecovery.com and let me know.

Take care,

Lisa

Get connected!

lisa@insideoutrecovery.com

Facebook: @insideoutliving

Instagram: @insideoutconversations

LinkedIn: Lisa Lackey

Insideout Conversations is edited by The Creative Impostor Studios.

Theme music is by Nicholas77 at freesound.org and is licensed under the Creative Commons.

Learn more about Lisa and her clinical practice, Insideout Living: https://www.insideoutrecovery.com/