“The only reason we don’t open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don’t feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with. To the degree that we look clearly and compassionately at ourselves, we feel confident and fearless about looking into someone else’s eyes. ”
― Pema Chödrön
It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to acknowledge the humanity in others if we do not acknowledge it in ourselves. This Sunday, Matthew Hyde and Tina Modde Villalobos will share about their experiences of how, in their own professional and educational paths, they both lost sight of, and then later re-embraced, their humanity. Their stories are ones in which it becomes evident that to acknowledge the pain and hurt in someone else is to simultaneously acknowledge it in ourselves. They are also about getting lost, and then finding one’s way back home. While their stories are unique, they will both be discussing how they clumsily but also courageously committed to living a life that felt congruent with their belief in the human.
Matthew is a graduate nursing student at SLU, former medical device engineer with bioMérieux. He has a Bachelor degree in Biomedical Engineering from SLU, Master degree in Engineering Management from WashU, and is a licensed professional massage therapist trained at the Healing Arts Center. Matthew will be sharing about his journey through jobs and experiences to find passion and meaning, while navigating through distraction, disconnection and dehumanization both inside and outside.
Tina is a clinical therapist at McCallum Place for Eating Disorders who also has a small private practice. She received a Master’s in Social Work from Washington University and her Bachelor’s in Theology from SLU. She will be sharing about how her own self-image as well as the career goals she held for herself became thwarted when she began to recognize troubling signs of fatigue, resentment, and disconnection, and how after many months of wandering through these unsettling feelings, she opted to reform her inner attitudes as well as change her professional path.
Join us Sunday 20 December for a potluck (starting at 6 p.m.) and Matthew and Tina’s sharing (commencing at 6:45). We gather at the home of Fatima Rhodes, 4406 A Laclede, Central West End, 63108.
