It’s not a national day, or even a provincial one. It’s just for Guelph.
For the second year, Lisa Browning, local author, publisher and creator of the series of Sharing anthologies, is mounting Empowerment Day. It goes this Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m. at Harcourt United Church, 87 Dean Ave.
The event features a slate of speakers, all aiming at the topic of gaining, reclaiming, or maintaining the capacity for personal strength and power.
Among the speakers – many of whom have contributed writings to the Sharing anthologies – are Patricia Rossignoli, Irina Benedict, Clay Williams, and Heather Embree. The talks are in an 18-minute format, with a Q & A to follow.
Along with the eight speakers, there will be a host of vendors participating, many selling books with a healing/wellness focus.
Browning said last year’s event had a good turnout, and was in conjunction with the release of a Sharing anthology. This year, the publication of the anthology has been postponed until the spring.
“Those who were involved in it last year asked if we were doing it again, and so we decided to bring it back,” she said. “It’s my way of giving back to the community.”
The event is free to the public.
Browning said the idea of empowerment is what she is all about, and she wants others to feel empowered through inspirational talks that are an honest sharing of personal challenges and triumphs — a sharing of the insights that come from that life process.
It is important that we understand that we are not alone in our struggles, she indicated. Hearing or reading the stories of others is encouraging and hopeful.
“You think, ‘Oh, I’m not alone after all,’ and you are empowered by what you hear, and the people you come in contact with,” she said.
A sense of empowerment, she said, is the deep, sincere feeling that we overcome anything.
“That whatever I am going through, I can get through this, I can overcome, I can make my dreams come true,” she said. “Empowerment is the feeling that you can do what you need to do, and what you want to do.”
Learn more about Browning here.
