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Candlelit tables spread across the room. Sofas the color of roses in full bloom. Over a hundred HER women gathered to listen to, learn from, and encourage each other. As ten of us sat at our dinner table, each woman shared an “ask”—a tradition at HER dinners. HER “ask” is an act of vulnerability. It’s speaking truth to yourself in front of the community. It’s opening yourself up to the help and support of other women. One of the women at Table 6 shared she was trying to let go of over-controlling her life, and “asked” the women around her for advice on how best to do that. Paige Howard, a dynamic artist, actress and vision giver, leaned into the candlelit table strewn with Italian pasta and said she’d come to realize you can’t figure it all out. Tossing her hair back and throwing her hands up, she said, “just make love to the mystery!” All the ladies at the table smiled and cheered, and one–Arianna Huffington–looked at me and said, “Now that’s a song title!” She said this to me because earlier in the night I shared my “ask.” After going through highs and lows as a singer/songwriter/artist, I’ve come to see I love writing songs that give voice to other people’s stories. So the poem below is the story of Table 6 at this week’s first HER Gala, featuring Arianna and Isabella Huffington. Make love to the mystery Feel a heated embrace Filled with lost innocence Homecoming — and grace. Leap from ivory towers to earth’s lowly plains. Run free in her meadow Untethered Remade. Fall in love with the broken pieces of you. Heart — wide open to their precious truths. Fit one to the other till their shapes merge Restoring the wonder given at birth. Charge into the battle warring within! Your angels and demons are learning to stand up for themselves, to stalk your existence. Whose side are you on? Who’s love? Who’s resistance? Kiss the courage that whispers your name. Life’s rhythm and cadence, only you can change. Be grateful for strength, be grateful for quirks Be changeable Be you Never doubt your worth. Let go of yesterday’s tatters and flaws. Each failure’s a glory Each confession’s a cause Of truer tomorrows, of deeper souls, Of eulogy honors outlasting resume goals. Then — welcome the silence we all pass through — Welcome the silence that leads us to truth. |