September Newsletter
Sep 01, 2021Badassery
It's been an interesting month and if I'm being honest with you, I am dealing with a bit of a writer's block. I have spent a lot of this month reflecting on what is going on in our world, my relationships, myself, and how I can advocate for myself and my children. I'd like to share a piece I came across from Brene Brown's book: Rising Strong.
"I know, badassery is a strange term, but I couldn't come up with another one that captures what I mean. When I see people stand fully in their truth, or when I see someone fall down, get back up, and say, "Damn. That really hurt, but this is important to me and I'm going in again" - my gut reaction is, "What a badass." There are too many people today who instead of feeling hurt are acting out their hurt; instead of acknowledging pain, they're inflicting pain on others. Rather than risking feeling disappointed, they're choosing to live disappointed. Emotional stoicism is not badassery. Blustery posturing is not badassery. Swagger is not badassery. Perfection is about the furthest thing in the world from badassery.
To me the real badass is the person who says, "Our family is really hurting. We could use your support." And the man who tells his son, "It's okay to be sad. We all get sad. We just need to talk about it." And the woman who says, "Our team dropped the ball. We need to stop blaming each other and have some tough conversations about what happened so we can fix it and move forward." People who wade into discomfort and vulnerability and tell the truth about their stories are the real badasses.
Daring is essential to solve the problems in the world that feel intractable: poverty, violence, inequality, trampled civil rights, and a struggling environment, to name a few. But in addition to having people who are willing to show up and be seen, we also need a critical mass of badasses who are willing to dare, fall, feel their way through tough emotion, and rise again. And we need these folks leading, modeling, and shaping culture in every capacity, including as parents, teachers, administrators, leaders, politicians, clergy, creatives, and community organizers."
My perception of this excerpt from Rising Strong is that it's not about pretending that everything is "fine", that I'm "fine", that this world is "fine". It's about owning the pain, the heartache, the worry and using that as fuel for change. It's about using our voices to fight for what we believe in, no matter what that is.
Day by day, my voice is getting stronger. Day by day, I am feeling more confident in honoring my emotions, speaking my truths and standing up for what is not in alignment with them. Day by day, I am advocating for what I believe in. I hope that you are using this time to do the same, no matter what you believe in. I don't care if you're left or right, vaccine vs. non vaccine, mask vs. no mask - what I care about is that you fight for whatever it is that feels right for you.
I plan to do the same. And it's not you against me...it's you and me both advocating for what we believe in. There's room for both. There's room for love. There's room for collaboration. There's room to come together instead of separate.
So as we enter into a new month, I hope you feel empowered to use your voice. You're meant to be here, at this exact moment.
To me the real badass is the person who says, "Our family is really hurting. We could use your support." And the man who tells his son, "It's okay to be sad. We all get sad. We just need to talk about it." And the woman who says, "Our team dropped the ball. We need to stop blaming each other and have some tough conversations about what happened so we can fix it and move forward." People who wade into discomfort and vulnerability and tell the truth about their stories are the real badasses.
Daring is essential to solve the problems in the world that feel intractable: poverty, violence, inequality, trampled civil rights, and a struggling environment, to name a few. But in addition to having people who are willing to show up and be seen, we also need a critical mass of badasses who are willing to dare, fall, feel their way through tough emotion, and rise again. And we need these folks leading, modeling, and shaping culture in every capacity, including as parents, teachers, administrators, leaders, politicians, clergy, creatives, and community organizers."
My perception of this excerpt from Rising Strong is that it's not about pretending that everything is "fine", that I'm "fine", that this world is "fine". It's about owning the pain, the heartache, the worry and using that as fuel for change. It's about using our voices to fight for what we believe in, no matter what that is.
Day by day, my voice is getting stronger. Day by day, I am feeling more confident in honoring my emotions, speaking my truths and standing up for what is not in alignment with them. Day by day, I am advocating for what I believe in. I hope that you are using this time to do the same, no matter what you believe in. I don't care if you're left or right, vaccine vs. non vaccine, mask vs. no mask - what I care about is that you fight for whatever it is that feels right for you.
I plan to do the same. And it's not you against me...it's you and me both advocating for what we believe in. There's room for both. There's room for love. There's room for collaboration. There's room to come together instead of separate.
So as we enter into a new month, I hope you feel empowered to use your voice. You're meant to be here, at this exact moment.
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