Giving is Contagious
As a Maker, Temeaka Gray El sees her work as a way of helping others to see their full potential.
“I became a Maker because I was intrigued at how one thought, one word, has the ability to change everything in someone’s life,” she shares. “The first word I chose for my bracelet was FOCUS. It represents my desire to work towards achieving complete freedom over the next 10 years, in order to have an impact on the world and continue spreading love, without worrying about cost.”
In January 2020, Temeaka led an intention setting workshop at Bowling Green State University. “The goal was for participants to choose a WORD to guide them through the year.”
“One participant had so much going on in her life that she struggled with finding a positive word to guide her. As we talked through her situation, she realized SERENITY was what she needed in her life, and having a visual cue would remind her to take a deep breath and find her inner serenity when things get rough.”
“For me, being a Maker is a way of helping someone create a memory or determine a word that motivates them,” she reveals. “It’s gratifying to have people approach me and say, “Look! I still wear my bracelet/token every day that you helped me create. It really helps me remember to...breathe, focus, think, embrace, be grateful.”
At another event, Temeaka met a woman who felt she needed a WORD to help her achieve a calm state of mind.
“She initially came up with words like BREATHE and CALM, and I asked her if she felt as if she wasn’t breathing,” Temeaka says. “She told me how she was stressed and frustrated and felt she was doing everything she could to embrace the changes in her life.”
Temeaka suggested the word EMBRACE to describe the calm mind and spirit the woman hoped to achieve. “We were able to discover her WORD together, through conversation.”
As a nurse who is married to a frontline worker, Temeaka participated in MyIntent’s recent Stamp Night in May to create bracelets to help support essential and frontline workers.
Accompanied by her husband, Sheik Chris, and their 13-year-old son, the family set out to gift MyIntent bracelets to the heroes working the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Each person we gifted was so appreciative,” Temeaka says. “My son commented on how good it felt to distribute the gifts, and he was right, it felt so good we decided to do it again the following weekend.”
Temeaka marvels at how profound it is to help others discover their WORD. In her work as a Maker, she’s felt the energy of another person change after they discover their WORD.
“Although they be excited about engaging in the MyIntent process, they don’t always have a sense of calmness or peaceful energy in the beginning,” she says. “Then BAM, when their word appears, it’s like a release of everything that’s been holding them back.”
