One of my students set up a self-defense class at a local women’s shelter for those who were victims of violence/abuse.
Being a women who had been in a women’s shelter before, it was something this student felt strongly about.
Being a man, it was something I couldn’t take the lead on because men aren’t allowed in the shelters.
And after reaching out to my female instructors, we came to find out that none of them were available to run it on the day and time requested.
And so rather than cancel, an opportunity presented itself.
…An opportunity for student to step into the role of instructor. An opportunity for student to lean into a topic they felt passionately about and start taking initiative in how that energy can be manifested. An opportunity to alchemize a traumatic experience into an incredibly powerful healing and educational experience that could be shared with others.
Sometimes things don’t line up the way you want them to or play out how you imagined them playing out… and oftentimes, it’s simply because there’s another opportunity in the mix that simply wouldn’t have come up without things unfolding exactly how they did.