Set your course!
I have the nerve to walk my own way, however hard, in my search for reality, rather than climb upon the rattling wagon of wishful illusions.
Zora Neale Hurston
What would it mean to walk your own way?
For most of my life, I have done a balancing act – sometimes setting my own course and often trying not to step on anyone’s toes. As a woman, the unspoken message was not to be too strident or sure-footed. I didn’t get a lot of reinforcement to walk my own way. Really! So, it was often one step forward with the other ready to back off.
I am intrigued by these “movement metaphors”. When I consider how I walk, I am aware that my small quiet fast steps say that I don’t want to disturb or take up space. When I think about how I stand and walk in the world, it becomes ever more clear that I have not been solidly standing for myself. Most people who know me will corroborate: my typical stance is weighted on one foot with my hip out. I imagine the message that conveys is that I’m accessible and accommodating. I don’t think it says, “here I am world” or “back off” or “I have places to go”.
As I have studied movement and explored my body stories, I have begun to challenge my stance – physically and emotionally. My tag line reads “set your own course” because I don’t want to be half-hearted on my path, and I believe that others truly do want to own the road (in the best way possible). My heart says that’s especially important to the many women who have adopted cute postures, alluring walking motions, or tip toe hoping not to take up space.
Join me in walking my own way!