Malana Hokulani @awomanuncaged
Liana Shanti has never wanted or asked anyone to say that she’s saved our lives.
She’s always saying “YOU are here to save YOURSELVES.”
When she says that, she’s referring to saving our souls.
And I suppose that IS true. No one else can save our souls except for us.
Not even Jesus– the man whose teachings she’s dedicated her life to sharing with the world. His real teachings.
Nope, it’s up to us.
Yet if it weren’t for her choosing to tirelessly and FEARLESSLY do the work that she does day after day after day, thousands of people in this world would have no idea that they even NEED saving or HOW to do it.
Thousands of us would have no idea that escaping fathers who’ve sexually abused us, leaving husbands who treat us like objects, and healing addictions that rob us of our futures is literally SOUL-SAVING.
But because of her, we do.
And it was her teachings that gave me the tools, the awareness, and the support network I needed during a personal 911 earlier this year.
A day where I feel that she literally saved my life and helped catapult me onto a whole new path.
And it’s her teachings that continue to help me humble myself and show me where I need to KEEP doing the work to STAY on this path.
A path that’s not always easy – there’s a reason why it’s the road less traveled – and yet is a path I’d choose again and again over another Christmas spent drunk, high, and hugging my abusers.
Because that life wasn’t easy either. I was just too numb to feel it.
It also lacked the PURPOSE, the JOY, and the LOVE that choosing this path has provided.
And what kind of a life is one without purpose, joy, and love anyway?
A life that needs saving.
And thanks to Liana, I am learning to do that all on my own.
(Even though, deep down, I still feel a TON of credit needs to go to her.)
I love you, Liana – not just for what you do and have done – but for who you ARE. You are love, and because of you, I am learning to BE love, too.
Merry Christmas to ALL I know who are walking this path less traveled. May we all choose LOVE over everything else in 2024.