The Envision Consulting Group LLC

A Week in the Life of Mama ‘Nem

It is close to impossible to find the appropriate words to fully and expressly capture the amazing experience I had the week of September 17th at Denison University in Granville, and New Birth Christian Ministries in Columbus, OH, as author and editor of my book, “A Collection, of Sayings of Mama ‘Nem: The Wit and Wisdom of Mama, Muhdear and Othermothers.”

On Wednesday evening, Dr. Toni King eloquently and brilliantly laid the foundation of this collective work by appropriately and fittingly creating a cultural space and inviting participants to gather around the ‘kitchen table’ where they/we could eaves drop and participate in the oral tradition of the passing on of sayings. We brought our imagination and reflection to the ‘kitchen table’ as we crossed borders and traversed into what is referred to as “playful world traveling” by honoring with sacred tenderness our story telling circle. We paid tribute to our mamas, muhdears and othermothers, and this tribute transcended time, race, culture and experience. We held up for inspection, and embrace, the motherline tutelege of women across global and cultural lines. As the evening unfolded, we breathed in and sat in awe as we listened to the mother wit and wisdom distilled by Drs. Jennifer Hodge, Renda Ross, Attorney Nicole Pittman and Nancy Gibson – the panelists/contributors for this event. Also present were contributors Dr. Linda Krumholtz and Rev. Dr. Charlene Watkins. As the evening/night drew to a close, we were left with the thought, ‘did not our hearts burn with joy as we joined in the excitement that occurred around the ‘kitchen table’ at Denison.’

On Sunday, I was invited by Pastor Moore and Queen LaKeesha Leonard to a book signing following the 9:30 and 11:30 services at New Birth Christian Ministries. Again, words cannot fully express this experience that was nothing short of transformative. The distinct signature experience of this book signing was best captured on the faces (see attached photos) of the many individuals who engaged in conversation around the sayings that were so much a part of the community in which they grew up. Individuals applauded the book and spoke of the importance of capturing the sayings, keeping them at the forefront of our lived experiences, and providing yet another venue to ensure that they are collectively passed on.

It is an understatement to say that the book, “A Collection of Sayings of Mama ‘Nem: The Wit and Wisdom of Mama, Muh Dear and Othermothers,” is rapidly gaining attention. This book that holds so many timeless sayings, is touching the lives of so many, and helping to create a space that makes real the language, culture and intimacy of the women who took seemingly obscure sayings, breathed life into them and dared to offer it up to a community of women—both in their girlhood and womanhood—because they knew that we would need a saying or two for our growth, healing and safe keeping.

Thank you Dr. Toni King, Nancy Gibson and Queen LaKeesha Leonard for broadening the audience by hosting the amazing and wonderful experience.

Go to my website, mamanemwitandwisdom.com to order your copy and to enjoy other goodies.

Lean on Me--Coaching for Continuous Life Improvement

For almost two months as I biked, walked and jogged on a long stretch of road near my house, I would see a woman walking that same stretch on a crutch. The woman is an amputee (having lost her right leg).

As I approached her, I could see the prosthetic leg, and hear the tapping sound of her crutch against the pavement. I was surprised by the distance she had traveled from home but also by the bravery she exercised by walking this hilly terrain at 5:30 in the morning – long before the sun had begun to make its way across the meridian. But there she would be in the quiet of the morning, her crutch creating its on musical notes, ear buds in, and humming a song as it played over her phone.

We would speak and bid to each other to have a nice day, and then be on our way. As the days turned to weeks with her walking with the aid of a crutch and me biking, walking and/or jogging, I would see her in the stretch ahead and begin intently listening for the tapping sound of the crutch.

It occurred to me some weeks later that in many ways, this crutch represented the role one engages in a life coach/client relationship. You see, the crutch that supported this woman could not and did not absolve her of responsibility or action on her end. It was almost a call and response. She had to exert an action in order to obtain a desired result—successfully making her way along the stretch of road. Neither is action removed when a life coach partners with an individual. The role of a life coach is to walk alongside an individual as she/he is sets out to make a change in his/her life—driven by goals, desires and/or need.

As a certified professional life coach (CPLC), my charge, my challenge and my call is to work with individuals to serve as a paraclete as we press for CHANGE. The partnership in which I engage is one that allows the individual to lean on me, in much the same way as the lady in my neighbor needed to lean on her crutch.

Coaching is all about CHANGE and as a committed life coach I will work with you to set and reach goals, whether they are personal and or/professional short and/or long-range. As one exercises on the treadmill of life, I am there to work with, encourage, challenge and assist you. And, just as the day arrived when I saw the woman walking this same stretch of road no longer leaning on her crutch but carrying it on her shoulder, the day will arrive when a client will have achieved their desired goals and can walk the treadmill under her/his own aegis.

Are you progressing personally and/or professionally at the level that satisfies you? Are you clear on what you desire your next steps to be? If you are wavering in your answer to these questions, or if your answer is ‘no’ then let me encourage you to consider partnering with a certified professional life coach and allowing that individual to walk with you in the change(s) you are seeking to make. You will find working with a coach to be one of the most important personal and/or professional investments you could ever make. I invite you to send me a personal email at [email protected] or message me. Let’s begin the work to bring about the desired changes you want. Visit the-envisiongroup.com for additional coaching and consulting services.

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At a time when many are shying away from engaging in honest dialogue on race, class, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc., and our country at large is seeing affronts to civility on every hand, Indiana Wesleyan University dares to make a difference by rolling out an initiative to integrate intergroup dialogue groups as a way to engage in and support difference. I've been asked to provide training for the facilitators.

God's hand is still at work even in the small steps we take.