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Success Stories
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click a picture above to reveal that person's success story!
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Sharon Stanton-Keep: From crisis to life as the Healing Poet...
Sharon lives in Worthing, near Brighton on the south coast of England. She has
four grown up daughters, a wonderful husband and beautiful home and
doing lots of good work in the community. As she hit 50 Sharon thought,
“There must be more to life.
I have so much to be thankful for, and yet
I lacked a deeper meaning.” She told me, “I had written poetry since I
was a child, and it has been important for most of my life. But it went
on hold for about 20 years as I bought up a family and cared for
elderly relatives. From my late 20’s to my late 40’s my life was on
hold a little. I filled it up with busyness, doing voluntary work as
well as running my family. Keeping busy also kept me away from my
creative side. I think I was probably quite afraid of my creativity,
not knowing where it might take me.”
Sharon’s turning point
The turning point for Sharon came as her mother’s health deteriorated and
became terminally ill. Sharon started to write poems again as a form of
personal solace, as there was a lot of pain in her life.
When her
mother died, she wrote a poem for her memorial service. She found that
other people asked Sharon to write poems for memorials of their loved
ones, and she began to find a whole new aspect of creativity opening up
within her. She began to feel alive and authentic again and it all
began to spread out from there.
This is when I came into Sharon’s life. - “A friend gave me your first book, and I was much inspired by that.”
Sharon sent me an e mail in January 2004 and, as luck would have it,
three weeks later I was giving a talk I gave in Borders in Brighton,
close to where Sharon lived, and we met at that talk.
It was beginning to dawn on her that she could become more than a
housewife and carer, and that she could develop this new sense of
purpose. But it was new to her. She hadn’t even been to London on her
own in 20 years. She’d never been to a seminar, had hardly used e-mail
or the internet. She was discovering a new sense of identity and
discovering who she was beyond the roles she had played so well.
After
we met at the talk in Borders, Sharon enrolled on a Masterclass that I
ran once a month over six months in Brighton. During our sessions, we
looked at how she could “play bigger” with her poetry and reach more
people.
Sharon’s growing impact
One of the principles I helped Sharon understand was how we grow through
connection and that we can make big strides through continuous baby
steps. Today, just three years after we met, and four years since she
read the poem at her mother’s memorial, Sharon has written two books of
poetry, one is called Come Alive With The Healing Poet and she has
produced two CD’s, which have sold around the world. She has been
invited all around Europe to read her poetry.
She’s also been invited
to South Africa and done some successful events. When I spoke to her in
December 2006, she had just returned from three days in Hamburg. Now,
on BBC Radio London, she contributes a thought for the day, which is
read out at daily and has become known as The Healing Poet.
What is the work Sharon was born to do?
She told me - “My work is reaching out to people at whatever point they are
in their life with love and compassion and to find empathy with them.
So whether people are experiencing pain and suffering or joy and
inspiration, I am able to write words that encapsulate that experience.
In that process something magical happens and even a healing can
happen. The words of my poetry are somehow a vehicle to carry that
energy.”
“My work is not a bolt on to my life, but the way of my life.
Each day I offer myself anew, and ask how I can be of service to my
children, to people who might need comfort or inspiration, to life and
to myself. I am to do this through every interaction, no just through a
poetry recital. For Sharon, the aim of her words and her intention is
create deep and even spiritual connection to people, and these
connections can be deeply fulfilling.”
Which of Sharon’s particular talents does her work utilise?
I hope my talent is to have an empathy with people. I love being
compassionate, a good listener and accepting of people, however they
are feeling and whatever they are experiencing. I am given lovely words
to go out and share with people. What I love about my work is that it
gives me a much deeper connection with people by allowing inspiration
and love to come through me. People say I find the right words at the
right time. I don’t make small talk I enjoy coming from my heart and
connecting deeply.
What are the obstacles Sharon has faced and overcome?
Like most of us, Sharon did not turn up fully and confident and ready to go.
She has had her own obstacles to overcome. Initially she experienced a
lot fear and doubt, and wondered who she was to be writing and sharing
poetry. She had to let a few people go from her life who she felt
overly dutiful towards.
She shared with me - “I have learned to
recognise that even in fear I can choose love and not fear. A most
powerful tool I use is detachment from the outcome. I share my love
through my poetry and try to detach from the outcome, of what people
might think and how they respond. I have also had to overcome a
competitive element in me.At the beginning of someone else read a poem
I felt threatened and undermined by it.”
When I asked her how she got
beyond that, she explained, “I made something else more important than
my fear, which was to share my talents and make my contribution.” She
continued - “ I live much more authentically so I can share
authentically with other people. The more I overcome my own obstacles
the more compassion I have for the challenges other people face, and I
know that they can overcome their fears. I can give people hope. Still
each day I face some inner questioning, but I no longer let my doubts
stop me.”
What part did I play in Sharon’s success?
She told me, “You played a huge part. All your books inspired me, but your
first book gave me so many insights. When you got up and spoke in
Brighton, I felt like I’d come home, I was like a kid in a toy shop.
All you said went in deeply as I identified with what you said and who
you were when you were saying it. I saw in you what was emerging in me.
I wanted to get up and speak naturally and from my heart like you did.
You taught me that I could make giant strides through consistent baby
steps. Then in the Masterclass you encouraged me to believe in myself
and showed me practical things that I could do to reach a wider
audience.”
Sharons tips
I asked Sharon if she had a couple of tips for anyone who wanted to get
into their creative flow and find their life purpose. These are
Sharon’s tips
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Discover quiet time and discover who you are beyond your roles.
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Just love. Love yourself so you can love others and be loved by others.
Find out more about Sharon’s work: www.thehealingpoet.com
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