My whole life, may I evolve with the grace and audacity of a tree.
I trust my roots, so I risk reach.
I believe my trunk, so I ascend.
I know growth, so I surrender to expansion.
It’s all about getting bigger and going deeper, like a tree. This makes us strong.
When Matthew and I created Reflection Press in 2009, we did so with the firm intent to let it grow like a tree. Evolution. Naturally. Expansion. Creatively. We did not separate out art from life from work from spirit. But instead saw all things as one, united to support us in learning about the power of creativity from within and without. We had vision, but mostly we had presence. Through process and presence we published our first three books, Claiming Face, Gender Now and Gender Now’s school edition.
Resourcing children from underserved communities has been an important part of my work for many years. Getting these books committed to print was our obvious first step. But there was a hidden gift in the making of these books. The act of articulating the philosophy was the same as creating a piece of art. It was like creating a reflection of something that had been inside of us now outside. The process of creating this reflection and then reflecting upon it, changed us.
2011 was a year of revolution, on the street and in the mind. Claiming Face and the times, inspired us to be more conscious, personally responsible and authentic, to look at what we believed and how whether or not that was reflected in our lives,
from education
to community
to power systems,
to what we say and don’t say
to social codes,
to money
and value
to business practice
and more.Also, what limiting beliefs did we have and how did we contribute to limiting situations personally, communally and globally. We expanded our consciousness and we dismantled and we let go. We sort of emptied out and played with freedom. Things changed. We changed. We could sense that Reflection Press was changing too.
When Matthew said, we need to be our radical selves in our business, I agreed completely. So, expect that there will be changes. It’s super fun to be exactly who you are all the time everywhere. We’re very excited to expand and deepen and look forward to sharing and playing.
Be a tree! Grow free!
Freedom rocks! Let it begin within.