“Am I My Sistah’s Keep-Her?”
“Am I My Sistah’s Keep-Her?”Getting Grounded
Instead of abandoning ourselves, we can learn to inhabit ourselves. The body is tremendously homesick for us, and it waits for our return.
Wise women have long said that the body is the temple of the soul. It is also the medium through which we express in physical form the deepest qualities and intentions we carry inside. In this world a vast array of issues, states of mind, and feelings manifest in and through our bodies. Compassion, love, physical and mental pain, tension, anger, hate, jealousy, things from the past, and stress all shape our physical experience as if we were clay in the hands of a sculptor – and we are the sculptors.
As African-American women, we have had to maintain strong backs, strong minds, and a firm self constitution in an effort to prepare ourselves to find our place in this world. We have withstood persecution, disenfranchisement, and a plethora of issues in order to get from where we were to where we are now. Often it is our spiritual foundation that was put into place when we were children, going to Sunday school and church with grandparents or our parents, which created a sacred place for us to go in the time of trouble. Sometimes that place of safety was denied us because we were same gender loving. To be whole we must reclaim that sacred space and embrace our higher power, our spirituality, and the divine within us.
Sometime we simply have to surrender to that special place for our peace, comfort and healing. Spiritually, no action is more important than surrender. Surrender is the tenderest impulse of the heart acting out of love for oneself to get exactly what we need. Surrender is living in the moment, not imposing expectations from the past.
Imagine finally being free to be all that you want to be. Imagine waking up each day grateful for a renewed beginning. Your inner voice sings to you: This is the good life; you look forward to working towards your fullest potential. There is no need to worry about finding your own space, you have it, by creating it. You have created your own world by making bold and often unconventional choices to guarantee your well-being.
As women who love women, we are more than qualified to anticipate each others needs, and fully equipped in mind, body, soul and spirit to be available for each other. There is an awesome power generated through women coming together in S.H.E. Circle’s for prayer, meditation, altar preparation, healing rituals, support, and affirmation.
Through the practice of prayer and meditation, comes rest. Rest for our minds, body, souls, and spirits. Rest means complete relaxation, freeing the mind and body to do nothing so it can repair and become recharged.
Sit outside on a warm breezy day; quietly meditate in a room together, filled with sensuous candles of aromatherapy; or when your alone relax in a hot, fragrant, bath, make it your time. Take time to reconnect to your spirituality and the divine. When you take time for you and realize the wonderful effect it has, you can share the results of the experience with a friend… for “We are our Sistah’s Keep-Her.”
Submitted by Reverend Dyan “Abena” McCray
Founding Pastor of Unity Fellowship Church Washington, DC
S.H.E. Circle National Advisory Committee
as I spent time caring for my kids and myself, i realized that my gyrl has never been sick while we were together. never had a cold or the flu or anything. i’ve never had to watch over her and feed her soup and take her temperature. she’s of course had 2 take care of me plenty of times. but never the other way around.
the reason why this calendar is so special to me. this is the only way that i’ve been able to really do something concerning her health. i wasn’t there when she found the lump. i was not there when she go the diagnosis. i was not there for her during her chemo and radiation. but i’m here now and i want her to know that she has my undying support. sometimes it doesn’t feel like enough. sometimes we have so much fun with the photoshoots and commeraderie that we forget that there is cause behind the project.
tho’ it seems like fluff sometimes. me fawning over the good looking womyn and whatnot, i never forget the point of it all. this isn’t a vanity piece i do care about every woman that i meet. whether they are femme, stud, gay or st8. and this is how i express it. thru my art. thru photography. thru this lovely little blog.
finding this article was right on time for me. i’m fully recovered and ready to wrap up this project but i’m reminded that it’s not over. we all have 2 continue 2 care for one another 24/7. in sickness and in health.
