The Only Authority I Need
I've worked mostly in the field of environmental justice for the last several years. Recently I've been working with a community in west Texas. We've been trying to stop a nuclear waste dump from being built.
My mama always wondered what I did, and my restimulation being what it was, I never gave her any real information. She insisted on coming along to a prayer vigil the town was having. There she met the people I work with, fell in love with them, and has gotten totally involved - doing everything from gathering over 2,000 signatures at her church to getting up at six in the morning to make burritos for people coming to a rally (some of them drove six hours, and she didn't want them going hungry) to getting interviewed on Mexican TV.
A reporter asked her what authority she, a seventy-four-year-old grandmother, had to speak on this matter. She didn't hesitate for a second, looked him right in the face, and said, "I'm a mother, a grandmother, and a great grandmother. And I love each and every one of them. And that," she smiled, "is the only authority I need."
Now isn't that a great story? I've gotten tons of mileage in sessions off that one.
Peace, be well, and thanks for being out there loving and caring and changing things in the world.
María Limón
Austin, Texas,
USA