The Ground Beneath Becoming
What if a nonlinear life is not evidence of being lost, but a series of meaningful passages? Drawing upon Arnold van Gennep’s work, this personal essay considers separation, liminality, and return through education, therapy, place, and the continuing work of becoming more fully ourselves.
Germaine ArnaktauyokRite of Passage (2021) Etching 34.3 x 44.5 cmCOURTESY INUIT GALLERY OF VANCOUVER © THE ARTIST
Every practitioner is a whole person, with a life that exists beyond the boundaries of the client-provider relationship. I value the honest exchange of stories, not as a way to center myself, but as a way to remember our shared humanity.
When offered with care, discernment, and consent, personal sharing can become a humble gesture: a reminder that healing does not happen between expert and object, but between people meeting one another with respect, presence, and dignity.
In a contemporary world often shaped by binaries, I invite dialogue, constructive conversation, debate, and sincere questioning. I believe care is strongest when it is mutual when knowledge moves in more than one direction, when the individuals lived experience is respected, and when each of us remain open, curious, and accountable.