It always grieves me, and has been weighing heavy on my heart all afternoon, when any dynamic discussion on God and spirituality leaves anyone feeling hurt, especially hurt enough to leave.

I for one LOVE this forum and my sisters here precisely because of the way we are able to share and celebrate our individual beliefs and values while also celebrating the right of each and every other woman here to celebrate HER individual beliefs (or disbeliefs) and values.

Unity in diversity. We have found healing in our ability to find our unity in diversity. We share and listen with/to one another and even when there is disagreement, we know we have heard and been heard and that caring respect allows us to find a way to not only co-exist, but to thrive here.

We have found our voices and our sense of sisterhood strengthening into a powerfully healing force as we have continued to create this safe place to "just be" with each other...allowing ourselves to not be torn apart by our differences of opinions, but instead being willing to listen, hear, sometimes challenge or question for clarification and ultimately respect - NOT to accept if it doesn't fit - but still accept the freedom of the individual poster to own her tidbit of personal experience and insight as valid for her.

NEVER do I ever share anything here in any remote expectation that ANYONE else ought to ever believe what I believe in. If you do, great, if you don't, I'm overjoyed that you feel the safety and freedom here to be you and that you feel strong enough in your freedom to be, that you are then able to allow me the same freedom to be me. And if I've ever come across as otherwise, then I do apologize profusely. Because my overriding concern here is that this be a safe place not just for my beliefs and my vision, but a safe place for EVERY woman who stumbles across our doorstep.

Likewise, I appreciate that nobody here shares what they share with the heavy expectation that I believe what they believe. That's love, sisters. That's healing. That's respect. That's what Dotsie envisioned, what God envisioned when He whispered that He wanted her to create a safe place for our voices to be heard. Not one voice, not one opinion, not one belief, but ALL voices of ALL women, coming together in respect and love and freedom to be safely all that each of us is and is becoming. To find common ground amidst the diversity, to find new possibilities in each other's experienced wisdom, new epiphanies in each other's insights, new growth inside of those new insights, and new creative and loving ways to express our own voices.

IMHO, THAT's who we are, and why we have found such sisterhood and family here.

Forgive me for this long and impassioned post...this has been weighing me down all afternoon and I just needed to share my little tidbit of diversity.

[ July 07, 2005, 08:54 PM: Message edited by: Eagle Heart ]