Lately I have risen in love with the words and ideas of a woman whose work is now in the spotlight; sister Social Worker and human researcher Brene Brown. I was introduced to her profound teachings on the now ubiquitous TED talk on the topic of vulnerability. She was speaking my language as she dared viewers to bare their emotions, unveil their essence, get real. Exhilarating and a wee bit scary. It rings with the feeling of total exposure as in a dream in which we are walking down a city street buck nekkid; the only one in that condition. Wanting to retreat into the pseudo safety of illusion rather than standing in the truth of who I am and the ways in which I experience life. I have written about Brene before, actually a bit more than a year ago, when I stepped out of the familiarity of a full time job I had for more than a decade into the uncertainty of being an independent business woman. I have stretched and grown; taking emotional bungee jumps that would have sent me running for cover before. One of the things that moved me about her is that in the video, she was dressed in a brown pair of pants and shirt, looking like a ‘normal’ seasoned woman, not bedecked in heels and bling, not perfectly coiffed and made up. She seemed totally un-self-conscious. It’s what I aspire to as I reveal my own inner workings in the face of uh oh fears of being fully human.

So what is the story I am owning? I claim the one that tells me I am enough and tear up the pages of the one that says I am limited in any way that has me ceaselessly spinning so that I am wiped out and wanting nothing more than to huddle under the covers and not emerge until coconut milk and vegan cookies are waiting. I accept the one that tells me that I need not earn love, but AM love incarnate (and so are you, in case you wondered.) I read the tale that reminds me that I deserve my heart’s desires (as do you, of course) and that I can re-negotiate any soul contract that says otherwise.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o The Power of Vulnerability