“We can talk about courage and love and compassion until we sound like a greeting card store, but unless we’re willing to have an honest conversation about what gets in the way of putting these into practice in our daily lives, we will never change.”
~ Bréne Brown
This made me pause. There are so many of us who can be stuck in the place of wishing the words to transform our lives. Yet, greeting card words are not enough.
It made me think about what gets in the way of living from a place of compassion, or as Bréne Brown puts it, living “wholeheartedly”.
And what keeps coming to mind again and again is that we can only be courageous and kind when we become aware of our inner world of thoughts, beliefs and feelings, and accept ourselves fully.
When we accept all aspects of ourselves without judgment, then we are able to let go of what other people think. This takes courage.
It takes an inner resilience to look at the parts of ourselves that are hidden or that we may not like.
We have to be brave to look at the stories we have created for ourselves and see them for just that – stories.
It takes courage to let go of what we have always counted on to reinforce who we want to be; to become vulnerable to the truth instead of covering it up or denying it; to show our authentic face to the world.
Bréne Brown gets to the heart of the matter beautifully: “Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky, but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy – the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.”
~ Bréne Brown
This is dedicated to all of you who have found the courage to be authentic, express your real self, and connect to your inner being. You rock!!
You rock, Val! Do we sound like greeting cards? ❤
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Maybe we do Ann .. Yet I hope in a wholehearted way. Someone auditioning for The Voice for example, definitely rocks!!
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Agreed! ❤
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Actually, this might sound conceited, because I meant to post this reply to your reply on MY blog! It all comes out the right way, though, Val.
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Having a dialogue via 2 different posts can be challenging for older wholehearted folks like us 💛
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This is part of what I try to do. If I ‘own’ my foibles, vulnerabilities, etc….I feel more ‘free’. More honest. More connected. 🙂
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Yes Colleen!! Foibles is such a great word isn’t it 😊
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I do like it 😉
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I just got a Brene Brown book – actually, a blogger friend was so sweet, when I put out a call that I wanted to read one of her books, this friend immediately offered me mail me her copy to read – I am so excited to get started on it. I think it’s the perfect time, because I know all the buzz words, and I’ve been working hard on me, but I’m ready to dig deeper! (Which is also why I am looking at yoga books!)
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It sound like you are ready Kate! 😀
Brene Brown has so many helpful and soulful tips for living an authentic life. I really like “The Gifts of Imperfection” .
BTW I came across another yoga book that arrived today. “Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life.” It breaks down aspects of yoga philosophy into short chapters of inspiration and practice. xo
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The Gifts of Imperfection is the one that my friend sent! 🙂
I’ve heard of that yoga book, or I have heard it mentioned! I’m putting it in my cart now, cause if that one keeps coming up, I am taking that message from the Universe! Thank you Val!
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Synchronicity at its best!
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Excellent Val, and it is all too easy to rest in platitudes and the hackneyed nostrums of the New Age, psycho-babbling marketplace, to philosophise away all that we see as obstacles to others’ progress, yet which remain entrenched within ourselves, would we but have the courage to look therein to see. H ❤
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Indeed Hariod. There’s always an opportunity to look beyond the platitudes and get real 💛
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Life is a journey from where we are to where (and how) we want to be.
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Yep 🐸
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I love this post Val — and it is true, living courageously means letting go of fearing how I ‘look’ or sound to the world. When I come from that authentic place of being me without fearing what others think of who I am when I am being me, I come from my ‘greeting card’ place of loving myself and the world around me fearlessly.
A woman at an event I was at yesterday came up to me and said she wanted to meet me because I just look so happy. I told her I am. Happy in an authentic kind of this is me and I love being me kind of way. 🙂
Love you and your beautiful soul Val. Thank you.
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I love you being your kind of you Louise! There’s no better way to be 💛
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Talking is easy, putting our words into action reveals our heart. I think you rock, Val!
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Thank you for your rock’n roll presence Jill!
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Sooooo good! I love this Val, thank you! ❤
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So glad your enjoyed Julie! 💛
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This is excellent.
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Thank you Erica. 💛
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This is great Val, wise words. It takes “Courage” (That’s the name of my book out next year!) to live authentically and to live our truth.
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Sounds like a must read Karen!! 💕
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Great post, Val. It is good to be aware and witness our inner thoughts. I saw a bumper sticker once that said, “Don’t believe everything you think.” Being aware of our thoughts, we can discern what is true and what are old stories that we identify with that are based in fear. It takes work and courage to live how we want to be. Thank you Val.
Peace
Mary
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You might have been driving behind me Mary! It’s a daily mantra of mine “my thoughts are not the truth”… 💛
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This post helped me more than you will ever know. Thank you Val
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Wonderful Jenna. ❤️
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I loved reading BB’s ‘Gifts of Imperfection’ a couple years back. I read her second, too, but haven’t yet read her third. It’d probably be good to reread GOI. There’s always more layers to go through!
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I think you are spot on Eliza. When it comes to lessons on life, going back and re-reading often brings new insights! It’s ironic, but I really am grateful that nothing stays the same … Xo
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I think we’d be bored silly if it did! 🙂
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So much wisdom here, Val! But I smiled thinking of this morning when I had my first Skype meeting with my new clients…thought they might not want to see me in PJs 🙂
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Great example Helen 😉
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Lot here to digest. But this stuck: “Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it” Thanks Val.
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That stuck with me as well David. It takes such an effort to live in a way that others expect from us, rather than being true to ourselves. xo
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“When we accept all aspects of ourselves without judgment, then we are able to let go of what other people think.” Oh, how I wish I’d learned that lesson decades ago. You rock, Val!!!
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Thank you rocking sister!
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What a lovely gentle blog. Thanks so much for the follow and I look forward to reading your posts as they come down the line. Happy courageous New Year brimming with kindness. 🙂
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Thank you D! 💛
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