Women's Empowerment Stories ...

The Vagabond’s Tale
~ Kathie Sutherland

Kathie shares the themes that have shaped her life. They’re both uniquely hers and universal. Do you see elements of your life reflected in her story?

This is a story of a drifter, a vagabond pulled along by life; a story of powerlessness and victimhood; a story of surrender and letting go; a story of disconnection, a lost self and a search for the magical child within.

This is a story of a second girl child raised in the 1950s and 60s in a transient military family of six children; a child whose mother was typical of the generation: pie-maker, baby-builder, keeper of myths, the core and strength of the family, and the saint on a father’s pedestal. This is the story of a gentle dreamy child, who longed for attention and
validation; who wanted to be loved for who she was, and who conformed and in that conformation, lost touch with the essential in her.

This is a story of copycat houses, and the ability to create home. This is a childhood story of hope promised in the next posting, the next school, the next friend, always the future, and the ever present disappointment when happiness must wait. It is also a story of learning to unpack the kitbag of the past, rest in the present, and step joyfully into what is to come.

This is a fairy tale story of a princess waiting her whole life to be rescued and cared for by a prince, and who is constantly disappointed by misuses of power, disrespect and abuse. It is a story of an internal witch who poisons self-esteem and confidence with
self-hatred and who beats with verbal sticks. This is an ongoing story of empowerment; the story of a girl who longs to know herself as a self-responsible woman full of beauty and grace.

This is a story of the moving vehicles that have shaped her - as a small child colouring in the backseat on long trips across the country; a teenager flying through the dark night in flame-decorated Firebird; a girl/woman leaving home on a jet plane, full of hope; a young woman getting off a bus with blood running down her legs, blood that will not wash from her hands; a bride marrying her prince, and eventually leaving on a jet plane with a broken heart; a young career woman living alone and lonely; a divorcee searching for love in all the wrong places; about finding solace and independence in a new car, new homes, new men, and new diversions over and over again.

This is a story of landscapes rushing by; of prairie vistas, mountain peaks, underwater oceanscapes, skyscapes viewed from plane windows, the toss of waves from a boat, seas of grain waving in the wind, forests and leaves, the world as seen from an RV, plane, bus, train; the turning wheels of cars, vans and trains; the thrum of a diesel truck and the roar of a motorcycle. It is a story about rosy winter mornings filled with sunrise silhouettes, fall leaves drifting down from a golden canopy, a dog guardian trotting down summer paths, teaching loyalty and love. It is a story of anticipation, fear and excitement.

This is a story of separation and alienation; of connecting with others while exploring a singular self; a story of loss: grandparents, friends, pets, communities; a story of intimacy and betrayal; of rejection; of children leaving home in innocence and being shattered in a hard world. It is a continuing story of grandchildren born and old friends dying; of accepting the rise and fall of grief and joy, illness and health, job triumphs and disappointments, the paradoxes of coming and going in a life.

This a story of curlicue letters, books, searching for knowledge; a story of finding the right words to capture passing landscape, to touch others in letters and emails, to process words in offices that probe the psyche and the inner world. This is a story of exploring life on paper; of recording and finding self in the play of words; of speaking to diaries and creative journals because no one hears or seems to understand. It is a story of poetry and short story, of manuscripts and articles, and wise women writers leading the way to understanding. It is a story of imagining what has been forgotten. It is the discovery of the voices of the many disowned selves who have defended and saved, given strength and protected from harm. It is a love story with the language of soul.

This is a story of a Vagabond coming home to a eternal patch of inner primal land; a story of seeking meaning and purpose; a journey toward finding a place in the world, the community, the family and the heart; this is a story about finding peace and roots grounded in the heart of God.

~ Kathie Sutherland

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