Practicing Courage

All Rights Reserved. My daughter, ever so fearless.

I’ve been very fortunate to take a five week e-course from multi-media artist/author, Kelly Rae Roberts. Her work inspires us, reminds us, to speak our truth and to find the beauty in all things. All-ways.  You can read more in these posts here and here.

This is the last Flying E-Course Kelly Rae will run and I feel privileged to have been part of it, to have been part of an incredible community of beautiful, encouraging, brave women. 

Despite it all being online, we truly have created community, a homespun e-family of like-minded creative people who gently push one another to have courage.

I’ve joined up with a sub-group of sister flyers to participate in a blog circle. On the third Thursday of each month (today!), our circle of 13 women will each post on a particular topic.It's kind of like a game of "Tag! You're it!" The first blogger writes her post, sharing a hyperlink to her sister blogger at the bottom. This goes on and on until the circle is complete. If you click on all the hyperlinks (please do!), you should experience an array of creative, inspiring blogs and posts!

Today’s topic is courage.

(Remember: at the bottom of our posts will be a link to another sister-blogger and you’re invited to check her post out.)

If you’ve visited this blog much, you know I can be a real scaredy cat. Heights freak me out, I feel claustrophobic in crowds, and I really, really, really don’t like bananas.

Pretty minor stuff, I know. 

Finding the courage to press against my comfy, self-imposed boundaries isn’t. It’s hard. It’s scary. 

For years, I’ve limited myself in many ways. I stopped dreaming. And dreaming big? Fuggedaboutit.  There are physical, emotional, educational barriers I firmly looped around my heart.

Yet, in the last few years, I’ve tried creating a new set of rules.  One that opens my heart up a bit more.

And I have. I’ve risked failure, risked disappointment, risked looking like a fool, risked not being enough…

And (mostly) magic has happened. I’ve met incredibly special new people. 

All Rights Reserved. Through reaching out to another mom (of my daughter's bff in the US), we became BFFs, too. And I was so, so lucky to then be introduced to another new person through her.  She, too, is now one of my besties. How lucky am I?

 Some have become my dearest friends ever. 

All Rights Reserved. All of us together. How blessed we were to have found three families that became so close. It really all happened because of kismet, and because I made an effort to reach out. Something I usually found nearly impossible. But I did. And I have forever friends because of it.

I have tackled many of my physical limitations (I’m not perfect and still have a way to go, but who doesn’t?). I’m writing. I’m meeting people.  Ticking off goals one by one.

I’m starting to dream. 

I’m starting to believe in myself.  To listen to the kinder part of me who is kind to everyone else.

I’m beginning to practice courage by listening to that gentle, quiet part of me who knows I am deserving and important. That part who knows I do matter. Knows I am enough. Just the way I am.

So, I will continue to straighten the stubborn spine my great-grandmother gave me and trod along. Perhaps slowly at times. Perhaps not how or when anyone else would choose. 

We have to find our own bumpy course.  No straight lines. Not for this girl.

I’ll get there in the end. I will do the best I can, when I can.  To me: that’s being brave.

This month, I’m honored to be linked-up with my sister flyer, the very talented photographer, Gail Haile, of New York. Please follow this hyperlink to her gorgeous page, Haile Fine Photography, and read her lovely post about practicing courage.