It was an honor to have been invited to be among the panel at WILLOW (which stands for Women in Leadership Leaning on Wisdom), a women’s networking group which is part of the West Volusia Regional Chamber of Commerce to kick off their first meeting of 2019.
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Ever wonder to yourself… how ever did you get where you are at? I’ve been asked how I came to be mayor, truth is simple- at the end of the day it was a peoples vote.
The deeper answer may be… God designed it that way. Being Mayor of a city was not in my ‘bucket list’. I believe that wherever we find ourselves today has been part of a process, where education, career choices and experiences each played a key role in providing a piece of the puzzle.
But then… there is always other factors.
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Courage. A sense of civic duty. And then there is… opportunity, sprinkled with “carpe diem”. Sieze the moment!!
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As I considered all this I thought of my ancestral history, the thoughts of Chieftan Anacaona leader of Jaragua of the Island Hispaniola (Dominican Republic) and her story. How forward thinking these island folks were – where men and women fought side by side.
I can imagine Anacaona with her mocha skin and long jet black hair, she was not only a beautiful storyteller and poetress but also a great leader to her people. In the 1500’s the Spaniards came to colonize the island -it incited a revolt and started a long war among our native Tainos and the Spaniards; many were brutalized by the conquerors. Anacaona was offered clemency if she would give herself as concubine to one of the Spaniards. She chose to stand with her fellow Taínos in solidarity and was executed for refusing the offer.
I pondered on all this the night before the event at the West Volusia Chambers and realized that if we went back in time we three Mayors were Chiefs of our Tribes. I’d be Chief Daisy of Tribe Lake Helen – and for one moment my heart was filled with pride for my peoples, and I thought that I must come to the meeting offering gifts to these fine Chiefs. But what gifts of any great significance could I offer?
Deep in my heart I knew only gifts that could be manifested through spirit in tradition passed on by offerings.
I see a greater connection of my human self with the great Creator and quite often I walk in my backyard gathering gifts from the sky, the wind, and Earth… these treasures I store.
I presented to these 2 great leaders the gift of Hawk Spirit so that they may have the power of vision and intuition to guide their peoples. And to the leader of West Volusia Chambers of Commerce I presented the gift of Crane Spirit so that they may have the longevity and good fortune to continue uniting peoples of the region.
But I could not leave without talking about Peace…
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I thought of another brave women who was an agent for change… Mother Theresa, she offered us the Simple Path captured in her words:
The fruit of Silence is prayer. The fruit of Prayer is faith. The fruit of Faith is love. The fruit of Love is service. The fruit of Service is peace.
It is through service that we manifest Peace in the world. May we strive for Peace and serve each other with Love.
