This is a Humble Beginning
By Kimberly Phinney
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of the intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the beauty in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that one life has breathed easier because you lived here.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Way Back to Ourselves has whole-hearted, larger-than-life aspirations for YOU. And why not?
The lives we live are but a fleeting gift. They are brutal yet beautiful. They are overwhelmingly hard yet overwhelmingly exquisite. So, we have choices in our midst: We can allow the difficulties of life to beat us down and swallow up our hope. Or we can choose to acknowledge the pain and push on toward something greater than ourselves. When we suffer—and we all will—it is far too easy to allow the suffering to overcome us. Trust me, I know, because I did for a long while—through infertility, mental illness, betrayal, and a critical illness that nearly took my life in 2021. And, in many ways, I am still in the fight to make the right choices. But there is another way. We can allow the story God is telling through our broken lives to reach out with a trembling hand and touch the lives of others who are walking through the fiery furnace beside us.
This community is authentic—as in we will not pretend to have it all together. We will not pretend to know the future or have all the answers. But, we will boldly claim we know WHO holds the future in his hands. We will strive TOGETHER to make something out of our pain and this one precious life. We will invite those who are hurting, afraid, or on the outside looking in to join us in this holy labor of healing and hope.
We are committed to finding a way back to ourselves, so that we can be WHOLE, and in turn, love, lead, and live better for our families and communities. And why not?
If you are reading these lines, and you feel that calling, won’t you sit and stay a while? Perhaps you’ll submit a poem or short story to our literary magazine? Perhaps you might be a guest on the blog or podcast? Perhaps you’ll share your story so others can breathe easier? Or perhaps you will be a devout reader?
So, this is me, extending my trembling hand to say, the journey starts today.
Won’t you join me?
And in the meantime, here’s a POWERFUL commencement speech I show to my senior AP English students each year as I help prepare them for their journey into adulthood. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll be encouraged. So, click below, turn up the volume, and grab some tissues, why don’t ya?
Blessings,
WHAT’S NEXT?
The Way Back to Ourselves Literary Journal’s FALL COLLECTION 2022 was just published on November 1. WE ARE OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS starting Jan 1, 2023, for the SPRING COLLECTION 2023! Take a look at the “contact” page to learn more.
We hope to launch our podcast by the end of the year. We already have several amazing guests lined up! We will be talking about overcoming disabilities, facing childhood cancer with faith, trends in education, mental health, and family psychology!