Sharon lives in Worthing, near Brighton on the south coast of England. She has four grown up daughters, a wonderful husband and beautiful home and doing lots of good work in the community. As she hit 50 Sharon thought, “There must be more to life. I have so much to be thankful for, and yet I lacked a deeper meaning.” She told me, “I had written poetry since I was a child, and it has been important for most of my life. But it went on hold for about 20 years as I bought up a family and cared for elderly relatives. From my late 20’s to my late 40’s my life was on hold a little. I filled it up with busyness, doing voluntary work as well as running my family. Keeping busy also kept me away from my creative side. I think I was probably quite afraid of my creativity, not knowing where it might take me.”
Sharon’s turning point
The turning point for Sharon came as her mother’s health deteriorated and became terminally ill. Sharon started to write poems again as a form of personal solace, as there was a lot of pain in her life. When her mother died, she wrote a poem for her memorial service. She found that other people asked Sharon to write poems for memorials of their loved ones, and she began to find a whole new aspect of creativity opening up within her. She began to feel alive and authentic again and it all began to spread out from there. This is when I came into Sharon’s life. “A friend gave me your first book, and I was much inspired by that.” Sharon sent me an e mail in January 2004 and, as luck would have it, three weeks later I was giving a talk I gave in Borders in Brighton, close to where Sharon lived, and we met at that talk.
It was beginning to dawn on her that she could become more than a housewife and carer, and that she could develop this new sense of purpose. But it was new to her. She hadn’t even been to London on her own in 20 years. She’d never been to a seminar, had hardly used e mail or the internet. She was discovering a new sense of identity and discovering who she was beyond the roles she had played so well. After we met at the talk in Borders, Sharon enrolled on a Master Class that I ran once a month over six months in Brighton. During our sessions, we looked at how she could “play bigger” with her poetry and reach more people.
Sharon’s growing impact
One of the principles I helped Sharon understand was how we grow through connection and that we can make big strides through continuous baby steps. Today, just three years after we met, and four years since she read the poem at her mother’s memorial, Sharon has written two books of poetry, one is called Come Alive With The Healing Poet and she has produced two CD’s, which have sold around the world. She has been invited all around Europe to read her poetry. She’d also been invited to South Africa and done some successful events. When I spoke to her in December 2006, she had just returned from three days in Hamburg. Now, on BBC Radio London, she contributes a thought for the day, which is read out at daily and has become known as The Healing Poet.
What is the work Sharon was born to do?
She told me, “My work is reaching out to people at whatever point they are in their life with love and compassion and to find empathy with them. So whether people are experiencing pain and suffering or joy and inspiration, I am able to write words that encapsulate that experience. In that process something magical happens and even a healing can happen. The words of my poetry are somehow a vehicle to carry that energy. My work is not a bolt on to my life, but the way of my life. Each day I offer myself anew, and ask how I can be of service to my children, to people who might need comfort or inspiration, to life and to myself. I am to do this through every interaction, no just through a poetry recital. For Sharon, the aim of her words and her intention is create deep and even spiritual connection to people, and these connections can be deeply fulfilling.
Which of Sharon’s particular talents does her work utilise?
I hope my talent is to have an empathy with people. I love being compassionate, a good listener and accepting of people, however they are feeling and whatever they are experiencing. I am given lovely words to go out and share with people. What I love about my work is that it gives me a much deeper connection with people by allowing inspiration and love to come through me. People say I find the right words at the right time. I don’t make small talk I enjoy coming from my heart and connecting deeply.
What are the obstacles Sharon has faced and overcome?
Like most of us, Sharon did not turn up fully and confident and ready to go. She has had her own obstacles to overcome. Initially she experienced a lot fear and doubt, and wondered who she was to be writing and sharing poetry. She had to let a few people go from her life who she felt overly dutiful towards. She shared with me, “I have learned to recognise that even in fear I can choose love and not fear. A most powerful tool I use is detachment from the outcome. I share my love through my poetry and try to detach from the outcome, of what people might think and how they respond. I have also had to overcome a competitive element in me. At the beginning of someone else read a poem I felt threatened and undermined by it.” When I asked her how she got beyond that, she explained, “I made something else more important than my fear, which was to share my talents and make my contribution.” She continued, “ I live much more authentically so I can share authentically with other people. The more I overcome my own obstacles the more compassion I have for the challenges other people face, and I know that they can overcome their fears. I can give people hope. Still each day I face some inner questioning, but I no longer let my doubts stop me.”
What part did I play in Sharon’s success?
She told me, “You played a huge part. All your books inspired me, but your first book gave me so many insights. When you got up and spoke in Brighton, I felt like I’d come home, I was like a kid in a toy shop. All you said went in deeply as I identified with what you said and who you were when you were saying it. I saw in you what was emerging in me. I wanted to get up and speak naturally and from my heart like you did. You taught me that I could make giant strides through consistent baby steps. Then in the Master Class you encouraged me to believe in myself and showed me practical things that I could do to reach a wider audience.”
Sharons tips
I asked Sharon if she had a couple of tips for anyone who wanted to get into their creative flow and find their life purpose. These are Sharon’s tips
Tip one: Discover quiet time and discover who you are beyond your roles in that quiet time
Tip two: Just love. Love yourself so you can love others and be loved by others
You can find out more about Sharon’s work and products at: www.thehealingpoet.com
Other than the anti-smoking medicine chantix, the quit smoking drug Zyban and a whole array of nicotine replacement therapies, namely, nicotine gum, patches, lozenges et al are also available in the market that help you to trigger off smoking cessation. But, significant Chantix facts present at the website http://www.chantixmagic.com make it apparent that in spite of the presence of all these anti-smoking therapies, Chantix still remains the most highly sought after quit smoking drug on account of the Chantix superb mechanism that helps you to get rid of nicotine addiction at ease.
Posted by: chantix | November 20, 2008 at 04:48 AM