My Elder Offering - Episode 162
This week I am taking a brief break from sharing a story from my book and instead am sharing about the elder offering I have been moved to give and what I am experiencing so far that is making a difference.
Welcome
Hi there, my name is Terces Engelhart and I want to thank you for being a part of this podcast. Thank you for being a part of my personal journey and for also inviting me to be a part of your journey.
I've often said that I don't have your answers and that the purpose of this podcast is simply to share my story, knowing that stories make a difference. That oftentimes, it's easier for us to learn from other people's stories.
Somehow it's easier for us to see ourselves in somebody else's expression than it is for us to kind of do the work and see ourselves in our own lives. Because we're often looking through a lens or a story that we've lived or created for such a long time, that it actually inhibits us from seeing things in a way that allows us to view them differently and thus make choices that give us some more freedom.
Life Stories
It's my hope that by listening to a story from my life or some wisdom that I've gleaned over my now 38 years of recovery, from 20 years of dealing with the addiction of an eating disorder, that you'll gain some new insights. You'll see something in a way that allows you to make a shift or open up to something that's going on in your life that eases your journey or gets you further along the path.
So some of you have been with me for a really long time. Others have just joined and I want to welcome you all. Thank you, thank you for being here. Thank you for being a part of my life. And I am grateful for you.
Okay, so this week I'm actually taking a break from the series that we're currently in where I'm reading a story from my book, Unreasonably Grateful. And by the way, if you would like a signed copy of that book. You can just email me at terces@tercesengelhart.com and I'll be happy to get that to you.
I'm taking a break from reading those stories because there's something that's happening in my life right now that I wanted to share with you.
Big Changes
Many of you know that I've recently ventured into a whole new season in my life. My husband and I sold Be Love Farm which we had been building for 16 years. We'd actually really just recently finished it and we ended up being guided to this piece of land up in Northern Idaho.
So we sold Be Love Farm and literally from the time that we got inspired and really got that we were being called and led on a new mission, there were ten months between that time and us landing here with our 2 dogs and 6 cows and a container full of things that we brought from the other farm.
So that's been a big journey. You can see I'm in a log cabin now. We're staying in an Airbnb and there isn't yet a place for us to live on the farm yet. There will be in another month or so before we move as we're remodeling a farmhouse.
Emma who's going to be leasing the vegetable business that exists on the farm already is going to be renting that but that'll create space in the manufactured home that's there where we'll move into. And then eventually we'll build a home and create some rental spaces.
A Circle of Women
So we're still here in this log cabin which is where I'm recording this right now. However, maybe five months ago we had a workshop at Be Love Farm and it was with Yellow Co. They are an amazing organization of female entrepreneurs who are utilizing business as an avenue to grow good in the world. They asked me to sit in a circle with them.
I had this experience while sitting in this circle and listening to these brilliant, amazing talented skilled young women who were struggling with some inner insufficiency, some version of not enough. Not enough time, money, beauty, etc., and yet I could see all that they had to offer.
I could see how beautifully and amazingly they were created and yet these stories or distractions that they were listening to were inhibiting them from putting their offerings out in the world. What they were passionate about, what they were called to, and what they cared for.
Elder Wisdom
These stories were in their way, and so I had this opportunity to simply share with them what I saw and you know give them a little bit of the elder wisdom that I've earned over the course of my seventy-plus years. Afterward, Joanna, the founder and CEO of Yellow Co said to me, "You got to really find a way to share this with other people."
So when it came up to Idaho, and I was out of my day-to-day routine, I thought well maybe I can create a way of sharing it online and creating some way to do that.
I offered a few sessions. Just as a freebie and people signed up for it and I had these 30-minute sessions. At first, to be honest, it was disruptive and difficult to deal with. It was challenging because I didn't quite have my routine or schedule here yet.
I was really in the newness of everything and actually, I'd say I still am. However, we got through those, and then I almost quit. I thought there was just no way I can do this right now. Then I thought, okay I'm just going to dedicate Tuesday mornings so that it's a reliable time. It's set aside and I know it's there.
So Tuesday mornings no there are two appointments available, and they're half an hour each. You can sign up for them here.
Divine Qualities
So that being said, I've done several now and I just wanted to share my experience with you and invite you to participate if it's something that you'd like or maybe there's someone you know that could benefit from that.
I've had this amazing experience of being able to sit with these people, albeit we're not sitting face to face, well we are face to face, but there's a computer in the way. But actually being able to sit with them and listen to where they are and what's going on in their life. And I have the honor and privilege of seeing how these people are really made.
I get to see how they're created, and how passionate and caring, I get to see all the divine qualities that they possess that may or may not be acknowledged or expressed.
They may be laying dormant even inside of them and I'm able to speak to them or speak to those qualities. And my experience is one of being so fulfilled. I am so moved, so inspired, so honored, and so privileged in the process.
Being Heard and Valued
The experience of the people that I'm listening to is also one of being heard and valued. The experience is that they belong and that they matter, no matter what their past was. That there's this future, this passion, this mission, this calling that's calling to them and that I can simply encourage them and support launching them along the way. Getting them back on the path.
Perhaps they've fallen off of it. Perhaps they're on their path, but maybe discouraged. Perhaps they're on it moving forward in a powerful way, and they just wanted to be able to verbalize it or share it.
It's been so rewarding and so meaningful. So I just wanted to take a break from my podcast this week and just invite you to let you know that it's my offering as an elder to the community. Sessions with me are on a donation basis so that doesn't have to get in anyone's way.
I'm grateful to have found a way to provide these sessions. I think once we get settled here in Idaho, I'll be able to do some in-group gatherings in person on the Farm. But for now, this is a way for me to be able to give back, to support, and encourage you. And other people just like you.
My Elder Offering
So I wanted to make sure that you knew about my elder offering and do it by actually speaking to you and sharing with you my experience. I am inviting you to experience that.
So if it's something that you're interested in or it can be a tool that you can offer other people that you may be aware of. They may be in your community, or your family, or your circle of influence, and just let them know that that's available.
So again, how they sign up for that or how you would sign up for that is simply go here.
So anyway, thank you so much. Thank you for being a part of my life and my journey. I hope that if this is something you find helpful or beneficial, you can share it with somebody else and invite them.
Next week I'll be back to share with you another story from my book Unreasonably Grateful, Living in Grace by Choice. Have a beautiful week and thank you for who you are.