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This concept of the hero's journey changed for me after reading the book, Erased: What American Patriarchy Has Hidden from Us. I don't feel lonelier as I age; I feel freer and wiser as I release patriarchal conditioning.

"I am in the light, not the light in me." Such a subtle but profound difference. Thank you!

This phrase caught my attention, "what I'm short on is stories to share of when I put it into action." I was waiting in line yesterday and a young Black man approached me and asked if I was "saved." My mind jumped to images of my repressive Baptist upbringing, my study of Buddhism and white supremacy and that "deer in the headlights" moment of not knowing how to respond. "Breath, Vicky, don't react" but I reacted: "I follow Jesus example of how to live in the world." He kept pushing his agenda to make sure we are all saved by accepting Jesus as our saviour because the Bible says it. Mind talk: "The Bible?! The book that has inspired our current system of white supremacy,LGBTQIAhatredand the crusades that killed so many because of what white men decided everyone should believe?!" My name was called to be served in the line we occupied together. "Thank you, God, for the distraction." I need more stories about how to put my compassion into action....

I also see compassion as the "com-mingling of passion" or the sharing of our energetic force that helps me see/feel the unity at the core of our beings. This quote helps me remember my place in helping others in this co-mingling process:“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time.But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us worktogether.”

Thank you for the reminder,"we can know what is good and what is not good, and we do not need others to tell us these things." I think this is a key concept to transform our public schools. I'm a retired public school teacher/principal. I return to classrooms now as a substitute teacher to stay connected with our children. Whenever I can, I do a meditation/mindfulness lesson to help them get in touch with their own place of knowing - without having to be punished or rewarded into compliance by others.