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About Sallie White
Sallie White has worked as a community organizer and
social-change activist in the Greensboro community for two decades. Her
work to bring awareness and healing between organized
religion and those suffering from HIV/AIDS in Guilford County resulted in
the formation of the Guilford Regional AIDS Interfaith Network (GRAIN)
in 1993. While serving as Executive Director of GRAIN, Sallie founded
the Higher Ground Day Center which, for the past 14 years, has
served Greensboro’s HIV/AIDS-affected community with programs of
life-giving support. Sallie’s career has also included service through
Greensboro’s Adult Center for Enrichment as Director of Education and
the S.C. School for the Deaf, Blind and Multi-handicapped, as Director
of Art.
Most recently, Sallie has launched her
own private consulting business, WhiteHouse&Co., providing tools and
design plans for those striving to live “consciously.” Sallie’s approach
to her work is informed by years of study with Greensboro’s Servant
Leadership School and her own inward and outward journey toward
wholeness.
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You must not for one instant give up
the effort to build new lives for yourselves. Creativity means to push open the
heavy, groaning doorway to life. This is not an easy struggle. Indeed, it may be
the most difficult task in the world, for opening the door to your own life is,
in the end, more difficult than opening the doors to the mysteries of the
universe.
— Daisaku Ikeda, Buddhist poet and philosopher
Living a Creative Life
The word creativity is often misunderstood
or, perhaps, misinterpreted. We think of creative people as those
who are actively pursuing the arts, demonstrating their skills as
musicians, painters, poets, etc. But the creative life is not the
realm of a chosen few... it is, rather, an invitation to the work of
self-exploration... the search for our truest selves.
The creative, inward journey is not easy.
It may in fact be “the most difficult task in the world.” And
yet, it is the work that each of us are born to do. For it is
through this process that we come to know our creative selves, our
unique passions, gifts, and talents. Creativity is the product of a
life constantly explored and examined. Creativity lies not in
having all the answers but in the willingness to keep asking the
questions.
Where does your creativity lie? How might it be nurtured so that it
can enliven and enrich your life and, ultimately, the lives of those
you touch? Have you become more creative as you have aged, or are
your talents and gifts lying dormant? We often get so caught up in
the tasks of our lives, the day-to-day maintenance, that we forget
to nurture our creative spirits.
This experiential workshop will provide tools and encouragement for
those longing to reconnect with their most creative selves. Whether
you are trying to reclaim a lost gift or discover it anew, this
workshop will nurture your spirit and enliven your journey.
Aging with Spirit
It is impossible to face what is commonly referred to as “the
second half of life” without embracing the first half, acknowledging
blessings, hurts, joys, losses…a life lived thus far. If the second
half of life is to be different from the first, we must find true
reconciliation with our pasts. This is the time of acknowledgement,
deep exploration, integration, and peacemaking. The spirit of aging
is about living fully into the gift of life with intention and
reverence. It is the time to boldly express and receive love, to
offer thanks, to forgive and be forgiven, and to keep an open and
hopeful heart. These are the challenges, the opportunities, and the
gifts of aging with spirit.
William Blake said, “The last time of our lives is not
for ourselves alone.” Indeed. The spirit of aging requires us to
look deep inside and discover the truth of who we are. It is from
that place of knowing that we can create, renew, and heal
relationships, strengthen our place in community, and connect to
something larger than ourselves.
The world may not revolve around any one of us (oh, that it
did!), but we are each an integral part of a larger whole: a family,
a community, a country, a universe. Let us find ways to age with
spirit, discovering who we really are and to whom we belong.
This workshop is designed to assist the process of making peace
with things past and moving toward a future with renewed spirit,
awareness, and gratitude.
The place where God calls you is the place where your deep gladness meets the world's deep hunger.
— Frederick Buechner
Reclaiming Your Gifts And Discovering Your Life’s Work
Each of us comes into this world with a unique and wondrous set of gifts and talents that point us in the direction of our life and soul’s most meaningful work. But too often as we grow up, we grow OUT of our own lives, losing touch with the very essence of who we are. We end up pursuing careers based more on cultural, societal, and familial expectations than
on our own deep-seated longings and talents. And as we abandon our true selves, so do we also leave behind our greatest potential for lives of personal meaning and creative fulfillment. The second half of life offers us opportunity to reclaim our selves―to chart a new course that both honors and reflects our deepest yearnings and giftedness.
Whether you are longing to bring new energy to your work, visioning a new career, or pursuing a more creative and satisfying retirement, this workshop will help you peel back the layers and rediscover your core strengths and talents. Come…rediscover all that you are and have to give. Life will never be the same again.
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