I Just Witnessed

My signed book, Untamed, by Glennon Doyle.

I witnessed something on social media that made my heart sink. A kinder, softer spot, that Substack offers, and I have personally experienced was upended this past week.

Glennon Doyle, someone I have quoted often, referred to, recently joined as she’s taken time away from social media for her health and well-being. Liz Gilbert, a treasured friend of hers hosted a welcoming party for Glennon. I simply adored it, and commented that it was the most human I had felt watching two women interact in a very long time.

Several days later, I received within Glennon’s newsletter that she had given it a try, yet living embodied as she is, and after feeling the temperature, it was not where she would be hanging her hat for now. Deepest of sighs…

I am not going to spend too much time within the fray, yet from what I can surmise, there were some writers that believed her being there would take away from them. What I observed and felt as I paused, was that what should have been a warm welcome for Glennon, as it has been for other well known authors, public figures, etc., it clearly was not.

How disappointing, discouraging, and just plain sad, that we cannot champion, cheerlead, shine a light for and on one another, as Glennnon, does all the time. She walks her talk, highlighting sensitive issues, both personally and with a very wide variety of guests on her podcast, We Can Do Hard Things.

What happened? It actually felt like a mob mentality, and that people got on the bandwagon, even criticizing the she didn’t enter the right way? Is there a wrong way? Apparently so, as it was written about in detail of how it should have been.

The majority of the noise was from women. This is SO not okay, and truly, if ever there was a time in our history, when as women, we need to be there for one another, this is it.  A warm, welcoming opportunity was missed, and I cannot help but wonder, how do those who participated in it feel now? A win? Who will be next? This is abhorrent and intolerable behavior, as we each BELONG to one another. I have had the hardest time shaking this, thus I write. It’s a way to get it out of my body, onto the page, and perhaps it might help us to remember to pause, and do a fearless inventory of what is triggering from within before we engage in finger pointing and othering. Buying into the mob mentality that her presence would actually take away from ours?

The tightest group hug I have for anyone who has ever been a recipient of this. Lord have mercy, didn’t this stop in middle school? Apparently not, I just witnessed it. This is a rant, I am fully taking responsibility for, and I tried to back burner it, yet I cannot. We can do better and we must in all arenas we are participating in. I include myself fully. I am not above nor beyond any of it. Yet, what I have been practicing is the PAUSE,  and checking in with myself first to see what is getting stirred up before I react. It has been revolutionary as our dear Glennon, reminds us.

I finally love myself (and us) too much to stay in any situation that feels bad. It is okay to try a new thing and then say: actually, that did not work either. Leaving a place as soon as it feels bad (even if it's inconvenient), I think is embodiment progress. ~ Glennon Doyle

Amen, sister, Amen.