Gratitude Friday

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This post is a mashup of The Little Bliss List and Joy Jam, and as such is meant to celebrate: the little things that brought me hope and happiness this week, the sweet stuff of life, those small gifts that brought me joy this week. By sharing them, I not only make public my gratitude, but maybe also help you notice your own good stuff and send some positive energy out into the world.

1. Feathers and friends, reminding me that I am not alone, that I am connected and loved, which makes me stronger, happier than I would be by myself. The kind of friends who will give me a “Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself” magnet for no reason (other than they love me and want me to stop being so hard on myself), who will take me out to lunch for my birthday, who email me randomly to let me know they are thinking about me, who “like” my facebook and blog posts, or who give me the most loving hard time when I don’t make it to yoga and a hug when I do.

2. Fall Break! It turns out I have so much work, so much to get caught up on that I actually have to work a day or two next week, but that didn’t stop me from feeling the full on joy of the Friday before a break as I walked to my car this afternoon to head home and walk the dogs. I let myself pretend for just a minute that I wasn’t going to come back on Monday.

3. Christmas Cactus blooms. Actually, mine are confused, because they always bloom closer to Thanksgiving, but they are gorgeous anyway, and make my paid work office a happier place.

4. The best husband, the kind who sneaks out on a cold morning and scrapes the ice off my car for me, and leaves me love notes that say things like “be nice to yourself today,” and who just wants me to be happy.

5. Long walks with my dogs. Seriously one of the best things ever invented.

Bonus Joy: Another week with Dexter.

 

What I Learned in Cultivating Courage

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I just finished the first session of Andrea Scher’s Cultivating Courage E-Course. In the course description, she says:

One conscious, brave choice — every day for 30 days. Who will you be on the other side?

During those 30 days, I developed a practice. I experienced inspiration, comfort, community, and a refined definition of courage. Here I am, on the other side, and this is who I am:

1. “I am larger and better than I thought. I did not know I held so much goodness.” ~Walt Whitman Every act of kindness is an act of bravery. My first thought often is something generous, but I usually stop myself, especially if a stranger is involved. I let those old, nasty voices about how I’m “too much” stop me, but this class, this practice has reminded me that this is my superpower, my nature, and maybe even my purpose.

2. I am not alone, and with a tribe, I am so much stronger. After 30 days in this class, I remember the importance of tribe, of communicating and connecting, of showing up and being vulnerable. Even though most of us in class were meeting each other for the first time, Andrea created a safe space, a secure container for our practice and our sharing, and we dared to be vulnerable, to connect. We quickly became a support team, a tribe of tender-hearted warriors practicing courage, encouraging each other and celebrating together.

3. What is an act of courage for me is just that, brave for me. Cultivating courage isn’t about becoming anyone else’s idea of brave. For me, right now, courage means cultivating confidence, the kind that Susan Piver describes as “the willingness to be as ridiculous, luminous, intelligent, and kind as you really are, without embarrassment.” Trusting myself, having faith in my own voice, showing up with an open heart, even when it’s hard and even when it hurts.

4. Courage doesn’t have to be big or bold. It can be quiet and gentle, soft and simple. You don’t have to save someone from a burning building, or make a grand gesture to be brave. As Mary Anne Radmacher says, “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says ‘I’ll try again tomorrow.’ ”

Andrea Scher is a maker of magic. She has a compassionate vision, and it’s so vivid, so vibrant that you can see it too, and this shared dream has the power to move you. You know immediately that you can trust her, and that with her support, amazing things are going to happen, you are going to happen.

P.S. One of the NaBloPoMo prompts this week was “What is the bravest thing you’ve ever done?” and another was “Tell us about your favorite pet.” As Andrea was putting together this course, she asked for courage stories, and the one I sent her was about my first dog, Obi, and having to let him go–the bravest and most loving thing I ever had to do. Andrea’s Cultivating Courage e-course has reminded me that this is who I am.