Take Your Lid Off!!!

It is election night and I am sitting in the back of the room of the Prop 37 party with my very patient and agreeable family. They are munching on organic snacks and I am thinking about whether or not I should say something when the leader asks if anyone wants to share. The leader, Paula is a vibrant red head with energy that lights up the room. She first shares that she has only been a part of the movement for a few months and I am shocked. She acts like she has been around for years. She is confident, related to everyone in the room, and owning the event like a true champion for human beings. She is a champion. She is a leader and it occurs to me that my role in the whole movement has been minimal at best. I realize that I have been playing small. Yes, I have been doing more than the average person, passing out flyers and sharing with leaders in my community, but I have not been the leader I could be. Paula is inspiring. I could totally be more of a leader. I could take the lid off my leadership.

So I do. I ask myself if I could do anything what would I do?
I would want to gather people nationally...nationally but locally at the same time and raise awareness in a huge way. I would want to do that in a way that works for Moms and families so they don't have to travel. I would want to do it on a day that is memorable and preferably at an event that already has the media present. Because some of the media is backed by major chemical companies, they often ignore the GMO Free USA movement and do not send press to protests or cover them on TV. We would need to infiltrate a media covered event.
Oh! I came up with and awesome idea that the local group of supporters agrees will make a difference. When a national leader said, "What you guys are doing In CA is incredible."I emailed back, "The Dalia Lama said, "Western women will change the world."That's us." I feel it in my bones. I am one of us.
I won't share the idea yet, because it's still brewing, and our coalition of GMO Free supporters will focus on the best idea to cause education and change.. but any local and nationwide event will require me to be a leader for many many more than I would normally even consider. It's frightening and freeing at the same time.

Most would not consider taking on being a part of a nationwide movement freeing. I would argue it is. See, who you have to be, to be a leader, is freeing. All your concerns about looking good or bad, you need to set those aside. That's freeing. All those fears about messing it up, you need to set those aside. That's freeing. All the resistance of responsibility that has you hesitate, you set those aside and take actions anyway. The connection, love and generosity that you find in the world from empowering others, that is FREEING!

I am clear that whether I lead this particular event isn't the point. I am not attached to my idea. (Although it rocks:) The victory for me is that I have set aside my concerns and I am willing and up for leadership at any level. I have taken the lid off my leadership and anything is possible. I don't remember ever feeling so free and so sure of who I am in my life.

So here's an invitation to look at, where do you have a lid on your life? On what you are capable of? On love? On Leadership?
If you are a parent, how does that impact your children? Your style of parenting? Your partnership with your spouse?

What would happen if you took that lid off? What could you consider?
What kind of parent/lover/friend/spouse/co worker would you be if you have no limits?
Coming from an empowering context, anything might show up and we might create new actions to take that light up and inspire the world.
Here's to a bright future we create together!!!

Zen Honeycutt