This week, on my birthday, I had the opportunity to present to a women's group about the work that I do. When I received the invitation, I hesitated briefly. In my family, we have a tradition of taking time "off" for our birthdays. But really, I thought, why should I take time off from doing something that I love? I decided to jump in.
It turns out that it was a wonderful choice. I was so inspired and energized by this great group of women! They engaged with me during my presentation, and we had some meaningful discussion. One of them had even seen on Facebook that it was my birthday, and surprised me with some flowers! I was really touched and humbled by their hospitality and generous listening.
It also turned out to be great, because during the course of the meeting, one of the women, Marilyn Shannon, recommended a TED talk for us to watch. It's about vulnerability, and it's about 20 minutes long, so I saved it for this laid-back Saturday morning. Wow! What a great way to start the day!
In the talk, Brené Brown talks about a lot of things that are important to our lives -- courage, connection, compassion, and authenticity. I loved it when she referred to the original meaning of courage -- "to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart."
It isn't always easy to be who we are, instead of who we think everyone else wants us to be. It turns out, though, that being vulnerable allows us access to the rich, full lives that we all long for.
All this made me think of my own willingness to be vulnerable. As I started this blogging adventure, I have to admit that I felt self-conscious. I really felt inspired about creating this celebration -- yet on some level, I also felt uncomfortable that it might seem uninteresting, or worse, self-centered. On some level, those are all part of the old conversation that many, if not all of us, have -- "I'm not enough".
What will happen in my life, if I allow myself to be seen? What would happen in yours? Are we willing to find out?
Brené's excellent talk is just below, and I hope you'll make time to watch it. When you do, I'd love to hear your reaction. What do you think?
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