Tag: Brave

Woe! It’s Wednesday: Being Brave, part 2

Published on by Live Vi-Carrie-ous6 Comments

Well, I did my second brave thing this week.

A question was asked on one of my writers’ online email loops. I wrote a response, prayed, and clicked send. Then the wifi connection dropped.

braveRats.

Then I had second thoughts.

I decided not to send it.

I went in to my email to delete it from the outbox.

And watched it sail away.

Oh well, I told myself. You were brave. That’s the main thing.

There have been a few comments that I’ve responded to off the loop. Then yesterday a message came through that the officers in charge of the loop were crafting a response to me.

Ooops.

I’m soooo not a pot stirrer. Not a drama addict. I’m a keep-the-peace-at-all-costs kind of girl.

Gulp.

I wailed to one of my besties, “WHAT HAVE I DONE??!!” She talked me off the ledge. She reminded me that I didn’t say anything inflammatory. What I said needed to be said and it needed to be heard.

So …

If i let myself wallow, I start to panic again. Will my hand get slapped? Will I be scolded? Then I climb back off the ledge and remember the important things:

I was brave.

I addressed something that needed to be addressed.

I was brave.

This stuff is harder than I thought it would be.

Woe! It’s Wednesday: Being Brave

Published on by Live Vi-Carrie-ous2 Comments

I finally figured out my word for 2015. Or more likely I guess, I already have my word for 2016.

I had decided on “Let it Go” for 2015. But as much as I liked it, it didn’t really resonate with me. I did work on letting things, not worrying and/or obsessing over what I can’t change. I think I’m better about that.

CatFantasizesatMirrorSo maybe Let it Go was not ambitious enough.

You know how things/phrases/people sometimes converge and you know you need to pay attention?

I’ve had that happen lately about being brave.

I read an amazing book recently. I’ll review it soon, I promise.

Then I heard a podcast sermon about Matthew 18. Closely followed by a podcast interview which cited the same passage. What I took away from both was that when someone has hurt you, the burden to set it right is on the person who was wronged. I think I had to hear two separate messages about this because the first one I pretty much ignored.

I saw a quote from Louis C.K. recently. He said, “When a person tell you that you hurt them, you don’t get to decide that you didn’t.”

I love this! For several reasons, but first of all because several years ago, I was hurt by someone. I told them I was hurt and was told I was in the wrong for being hurt. That festered for a long time. I did the right thing. I took it to that person in private and was completely shot down and ignored. That’s not a great way to heal a damaged relationship. Reading this quote was incredibly freeing. It validated everything I felt back then as well as the lingering vestiges of hurt that still try to derail me.

Then, as if I needed one last indication, an opportunity fell into my lap last week to say something to someone that needed to be said. Normally, I’d just pass it by and tell myself not to rock the boat, “let it go.” 😉

But instead, I decided to be brave and speak up.

Guess what happened? The person heard me, apologized, and we moved on. It’s over.

All because I was brave.

So that’s why I’ve adopting it as my 2016 word. It’s kind of like the calendars that go on sale at this time of year. You know. They’re advertised as being 16-month calendars, to encourage you to buy now and use it for the rest of this year and all of next year. Except the extra four months from this year are all listed on one page. No pretty picture as a header. No space to write appointments. Basically, a bait and switch, in my not so humble opinion.

But I’m getting an early start on being brave and I plan to carry it from this year and throughout the next.

Have you started thinking about your word/phrase for next year yet? Or am I the only one?