The Story of Shannon and the Name Wise River Consulting

Welcome to my first blog post. My name is Shannon. I am Wise River Consulting. I'll add more about my professional experience as I'm building the site. Until then, let me explain how I came to the name WISE RIVER.

You might ask, "Why not just call your business Shannon Essig Consulting?" Well, I can think of a lot of reasons. Ultimately, I didn't want to be confined to just my name, but I still wanted it to represent me.

​A new business is like a baby. Parents struggle over naming their baby. Giving it a good name is a big responsibility. They don't really know much about this newborn child, and the future is both wide open and unpredictable. So they ponder and research and debate. Nothing too trendy or weird. Something memorable, timeless, and meaningful. It really depends on the culture. That will determine the name that fits the family, and ages nicely, as the baby grows into its name, becoming a part of the family's story.

So, I looked for a story of my name and found it in plain sight. Following the story of one of my grandfathers, from our home in California, back to Vermont where he was born. Then following his two parents from Vermont back to Ireland where they were born, which led to the story of... the River Shannon.

The story of a river is its journey. In the living story of the River Shannon, that journey begins at a spring fed pool, feeding a stream, growing larger as it flows, winding its stately way through the land, until it merges with the sea. In the mythology of the river, the actions of Shannon (translated from Sionann or Sinann), lead to the creation of the river. The older a story becomes, the more variations there are in its telling. So, please bear with mine.

Shannon, a very powerful girl, noble, radiant, and ever compassionate, possessing great craft and skill, sought to use her knowledge to help her people. However, she lacked the gift of poetic inspiration. With that gift, she could change the world with her words. To find the gift, Shannon went to the Pool of the Generous Woman, a well fed by seven underwater streams. The pool was a place forbidden to all but one man. Committed to finding her gift of inspiration, Shannon nevertheless drank from the pool. But as she did, the seven streams flooded in, overflowing the pool, rushing in to cover the land like a wave forming the river. Shannon drowned as the river was created. In her death, she became the spirit of the river, and received the gift she sought, carrying prosperity, inspiration, and wisdom to her people wherever the river flowed.

And there you have it. I chose Wise River Consulting because it represents me. My name, which has aged nicely, and added to my family's story. The story of Shannon represents everything I have aspired to do in my work and look forward to continuing as a consultant. Committed to sharing my gifts, carrying prosperity, inspiration, and wisdom to my people.