A tribute to Ann McGuiness
It has been an honor and a privilege to know and work with Ann McGuiness for over 20 years. Ann was someone that was constantly striving to be her best self and she knew that learning, growing, challenging herself and striving towards personal and professional goals and intentions were an important part of her journey to her ever evolving self. I am grateful to have heard her thoughts, her aha moments, her frustrations, her anger (mostly towards anything or anyone that got in the way of progress in the world). She truly was the fierce fundraiser behind the women’s reproductive rights movement all these years. As difficult as her task was, she accomplished greatness for women reproductive rights and did it with grace.
Ann was one of my first clients and attended my very first retreat in 2002. She was a student of living and working intentionally. She was conscious and she understood that the more conscious she was the more she could become conscious. It was truly an honor to have her be such a student of this work along side me as I too continue to be a student of this work. She was constantly reading, practicing (on and off the mat) , she was a deep thinker. And when she was clear, stand back, she took bold action and went out to change the world over and over again. As fierce as she was, she also had an amazing heart which was the inspiration behind her actions. She was immensely passionate about her family, her work and her own progress both personally and professionally. She had a vision for a grander world and that was her lifes work - striving in that direction every year.
I learned so much from working with her all these years. Just some of the things she reminded me of:
To accomplish great things, one often needs to be fierce.
The yoga mat is just the beginning of where conscious living begins.
Stretching is part of life on and off the. mat.
Feeling pain deeply is part of living well. Be with it.
Family is everything. Love them well. Have the hard conversations when you need to. It’s worth it.
Kids are our greatest joy. Anns 2 kids were truly her heart - walking around outside of her.
Kindness matters.
There are always ways to fund progress and it’s worth it. Forward motion matters.
Anger and frustration - fuels progress. Use it wisely.
Be still and find peace within - it is a gift to ourselves, in spite of our troubles.
To never stop working on yourself, ever.
Be curious - for its how we learn.
Seeing the world - is a form of learning.
Ann is a fellow sister of women entrepreneurship. She made a difference in the world year after year. Her ripples will continue far and wide. Anyone that strives to further Womens reproductive rights will be doing it by standing on Ann’s shoulders. Ann will be remembered as a pioneer, a leader, a change maker, an advocate, a voice of reason and a disrupter - one I am so proud to be able to call a friend.
It has been an honor to walk with you all these years, may you be at Peace knowing you served extraordinarily in every way, Ann McGuiness. 🙏🏼❤️
