Brave was a term I used loosely and rarely and I hadn’t put much thought into.
I began to notice I hadn’t been showing up for life because of my own insecurities, stories, beliefs, circumstances, and excuses.
I was sitting in the passenger seat in too many areas of life, and letting someone else (many others) drive the car.
I don’t remember the moment, or the cause, or the one thing that put brave on my radar, but at the beginning of 2017 I decided it would be my word for the year.
The more you focus, lean into and assimilate something into your life, the deeper understanding you get.
Brave has been no exception.
6 months have passed, and these are the ways I have seen, been, or needed to be brave.
Staying somewhere that makes me uncomfortable.
Doing what is right even if the consequences scare me.
Setting boundaries.
Sharing an idea when I don’t know if I’m right.
Starting over.
Starting over again.
Asking questions.
Feeling what’s in my heart and staying with it.
Showing up.
Following a dream.
Sharing my weaknesses and imperfections.
Sharing my strengths.
Exploring my gifts.
Owning who I am.
Being vulnerable.
Crying.
Saying hello.
Saying goodbye.
Having faith things will work out when I can’t see the end… or the good.
Staying.
Leaving.
Being with others.
Being alone.
Compassion.
Empathy.
Loving someone I don’t feel loving towards.
Loving myself when I don’t feel loveable.
The more I lean into vulnerability, love, and fear the deeper understanding I have of what it means to be brave.
At the beginning of the year I thought there were only a few ways I wasn’t being brave and I could just do those things.
But the layers underneath and the reasons why I wasn’t being brave began to surface rapidly, and I’m starting to understand being brave is a lifestyle.
I feel like I’m only on the tip of the brave iceberg now.
The one thing I’ve noticed is that the more I embrace and lean into bravery, the more sweet life has become.