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This is Wisdom

By: Emily Keeling & Natalie Russell

She could not leisurely stroll through her childhood years. That was the luxury of her peers – of which she was acutely aware. She was a girl with real monsters under her bed. She feared what skeleton she would find if she opened up her closet door or turned on the lights. So she did what she had to. She grew up. She did it quickly, for the circumstances around her required it. Her survival depended on her ability to understand the world…fast.

Her skin thickened, layer upon layer, making her invulnerable. Fantasies and whimsical dreams grew to be her escape. The kinds of fairy tales she found in books allowed her to envision another world where she would be safe. Books quieted the chaos around her and blurred the unrest. Every time she read, it was as if the Wonder Woman cape draped itself around her. Both as her protection and as her superpower.

She found worth and confidence in being smart. She soaked up knowledge and relied on intellect as her way out. Each book became internalized as a weapon against those who threatened her. They taught her lessons in how to best defend herself. They grew to be the antidote to her pain. The tales she read imparted lessons about life she would not have otherwise learned from the people around her.

Wisdom became her identity.

She then made a living off her greatest childhood coping mechanism-reading books and unearthing their lessons. Becoming a professor. The ultimate survival tool. An ability to seize her strengths and use them to propel herself and her new family, the one she created for herself.

She passed down the stories of her ancestors to her children so that they might be wise too. She applied the lessons she learned so that her children would not suffer the way she did. She built a home, a safe home, for herself and her family founded on the stories that inspired her. And spent her life encouraging others to find their own meaning.

Now she, herself, is a story to inspire others. A story that doesn’t end, but is passed on. And each reader is meant to define and redefine her own personal wisdoms.

Join us at our Elle Sage event on Wednesday, August 22nd to honor wisdom. Our wellness practitioners will be offering their expert advice on self-care and engaging you to participate. See more details on the Elle Sage event page.