Mirjam Busch is a member of NZAC, New Zealand Association of Counsellors
I am now in my forties and I am looking behind, beside and before me.
When I look behind, I become aware of the death of the old, of all the patterns and ways of being that have shaped my life. I have sought refuge in travelling, in marriage, in the Goddess, parenting and homemaking. My professional development has been directly linked to my personal yearning for truth, connection, healing and belonging.
When I look beside me, I see my late twenties and mid thirties. Personal crisis provoked a time of looking inward and reaching outward, in an attempt to bring light to the shadows within. Step by step I dared to look deeper at who I really was, warts and all. It was also a time of exploring "the worldly me" - identifying my strengths and discovering meaningful ways to contribute. Hearing and responding to my own voice as a woman required for me to cultivate tremendous courage and support, tenacity and faith.
Bringing my shadows to the light with mercy and courage, sharing with the wider world my insights, and actively supporting men and women in healing their relationships has been my biggest challenge and joy in the past seven years. Revealing my strength seemed almost as hard as revealing my vulnerability. My strength is in my ability to turn and look inward. The work that I do is often not visible, yet vital to maintaining my equilibrium and my connection with myself and others.
I work with my partner Rudolf towards a world that begins to honour women’s and men's voices next to each other; a world where mutual dialogue, individual and collective responsibility lead to more understanding and peace; a world where relating, creating, contemplating, and nurturing are valued as much as producing.
18 May 2004