Chapter 7: Power - Personal Power

“The moon, shining in the sky, is unperturbed and shines majestically, even when the wind is blowing hard. The pine trees grown at the bottom of a valley, which are usually drenched by rain and blown by the wind, are not affected by heavy snowfall. They are still vividly green, shrugging off the snow. This zen poem from Keitokudentoroku, which was compiled by Dogen in the Baisong Dynasty era in China, expresses a firm belief that will not be swayed by anything, no matter what difficulties it may encounter. It is important to have a strong will that will not be discouraged by any difficulties encountered. Sheri Ford Lewin was only 11 years old when she had to testify in front of a judge and the attorneys in court for a custody suite due to the divorce of her parents in the 1970s. There was a lot of backlash for some of her testimony led a really large setback at that period in her life. However, she was able to learn from this painful experience. She said “It set me free and I could follow my life with truth, even hard ones.” Sheri Lewin followed her truth and became a Founder and Executive Director of Thrive Clermont, Inc. a 501(c) (3) charitable non-profit corporation based in Central Florida whose mission is Empowering Teens to succeed. She believes all power lies in personal power, and shares her wisdom how to develop personal power to the listeners.