Alejandra Warden

I received an advance copy of Gender Equity & Reconciliation and would like to share with you my thoughts on this wonderful book. If there is any hope of a more peaceful and just future for all human beings, a shift towards a respectful, compassionate, and empathetic paradigm of gender dynamics must occur. This shift cannot take place just at the level of the mind; it must take place deep within the heart. Gender Equity and Reconciliation International (GERI) has developed impactful practices and approaches to gender healing. This book powerfully and eloquently describes the transformative work and experiences taking place in GERI workshops and training all over the world that are helping us take a first step towards a world of more just and nurturing gender relations. I highly recommend this book and the GERI workshops to anyone who wants to contribute to and be a part of this change.

The Place where I Come from

by Alejandra Warden

I come from warm green valleys and cool naked hills.

I come from unfinished shadows,

From desert sharp plants,

From land of donkeys and mountain lions.

I come from relaxed siesta times from two to five,

And from full moons and from full suns.

I come from meadows of chamomile,

from Mondays of rain, Tuesdays of baking,

and Friday night Fiestas.

I come from the Eternal.

I come from the Sierras.

I come from here and from this.

I come from there and from that.

I come from coming, and from singing

And from leaving all behind me.

From leaving homes, friends, and jobs,

teachers and workers, students and parents.

I come from leaving behind

the soil that saw me sprout once.

I come from detachment.

I come from tears,

I come from hugs,

I come from love.

I come from circle dances full of wide black skirts and blouses.

I come from Samba,

from beating drums at the sound of the heart.

I come beats the drum.

I come beats the heart.

I come, I come, I come, beats the drum.

I come from rhythms.

I come in cycles.

I come from balance.

I come from silence.

I come from the east and from the west.

I dance one day and stand the next.

I come from the noun and from the verb.

I come from the first primordial words:

Life Be, so that Life is.

I come from the basic.

I come from the voice and from the song.

I come from the breath.

I come from the center.

I come from emptiness.

I come from the heat of the flame,

from the freshness of the breeze,

from the wetness of the rain,

from the sun’s radiance and the moon’s reflection.

I come from the origin and its originator.

I am its creation.

I come form the idea, the thought, and the intention.

I come from meaning.

I come from the womb:

cosmic container, celestial shaker.

I come from binding:

from the joining of celestial floating particles.

I come with shape and yet I’m shapeless.

I come in body.

I come in soul.

I come in hands,

trying to embrace, trying to serve, trying to bless.

I come from surrender.

I come from the Earth and from the Sun,

And from the loving morning star.

I come from the roots and from the leaves,

from above and underneath.

I come from the attraction of life and form.

I come from within.

I come from the Whole.

I come from the One, then from the Two,

and I am the three.

I come from inside,

because outside does not exist.

I am the northern white mountain wolf.

During the day I live in packs, feed and survive.

And every night I haul my longing

to the moon and to the sky.

I am the dream that someone dreamt once.

I am the smoke of a native pipe.

I’m the still point in the middle of the sphere and from there I whisper…

I am the voice of silence and the light of darkness.

I come from the eye of the tornado and the mouth of the volcano.

I come from the embrace that two grey clouds

gave to each other on one stormy day.

I am the thunder and I am the ray.

And I am more!

I am the clouds.

I am the air.

I am the rain

and the sun shining, everywhere.

I am the space.

I am the Earth.

And I am more!

For I am All!

And yet I’m nothing,

Nothing at all.

I’m just a tiny little drop.

I am of God.

I come from the place that no one can touch, nor see, nor smell.

I come from the place that no one can name.

I come from the center.

I come the heart.

I come from the essence.

Alejandra Warden

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